New Delhi: Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor on Friday expressed his disappointment over Karnataka’s bill which was initiated by his party ruling in the state, which mandates job reservation for Kannadigas in the private sector. Tharoor described this job reservation as “unconstitutional” and “unwise”.

While criticizing the job reservation bill, he said that according to the Constitution, every citizen has the right to live, work and travel freely across the country.

“That was not a wise decision. If every state brings such a law, it would be unconstitutional. According to the Constitution, every citizen has the right to live, work and travel freely in any part of India,” Tharoor said, PTI reported. 

However, Congress MP expressed happiness over the decision of the Siddaramaiah-led government to withhold the bill. 

The Thiruvananthapuram MP said, “I don’t know why Karnataka thought of it, on what basis,” adding if such a law were implemented in the state, businesses from Karnataka would likely relocate to neighbouring states such as Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

He also said that the Supreme Court had rejected a similar bill when a government in Haryana tried to introduce it.

Earlier, the Karnataka state Cabinet cleared the “Karnataka State Employment of Local Candidates in Industries, Factories, and Other Establishments Bill, 2024” on Monday, mandating private firms to reserve jobs for Kannadigas.

Following criticism from the industry, including a caution from tech company NASSCOM that might relocate out of Karnataka, the state government decided to put the bill on hold.