Chief minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday attributed the large number of vacancies across government departments to failures by the previous Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) regime, even as government job aspirants held a protest in Dhadwad.
In a statement, Siddaramaiah said that when the Congress assumed office in 2023, more than 26.4 million government posts were vacant, describing the situation as the result of “prolonged inaction under the previous BJP government, which failed to initiate timely recruitment or create a structured roadmap to fill vacancies.”
“It is deeply unfortunate that BJP leaders are choosing to mislead innocent students even now to serve their narrow political interests,” he said.
The chief minister said recruitment delays were also linked to irregularities and alleged corruption between 2019 and 2023, which he said had undermined trust and contributed to the backlog.
“Our government is committed to restoring credibility, transparency, and stability in the recruitment process,” he said.
Siddaramaiah said recruitment efforts had also been affected by legal challenges, particularly cases involving internal reservation policies that remain under judicial review. He said the government had chosen to proceed cautiously to avoid jeopardising candidates’ careers.
“Despite these structural and legal constraints, our government has moved with determination and integrity. In the last 2.5 years alone, more than 40,000 recruitments have been completed across departments,” he said.
Acknowledging the impact of delays on aspirants, he said the government had relaxed the upper age limit by more than five years to ensure eligible candidates were not excluded. “I want to assure that the process of filling the remaining vacancies is ongoing and will be further accelerated in a transparent, systematic, and time-bound manner,” he said.
He said he understood the frustration among aspirants. “I understand the anxiety, frustration, and uncertainty that many government job aspirants are experiencing,” he said, adding that steps were being taken to strengthen recruitment systems and prevent future backlogs.
“Your perseverance inspires us. My government stands firmly with you, not just in words but in action. We will ensure opportunities are expanded, dreams are protected, and public service remains a noble and attainable path for every deserving young mind,” he said.
The opposition, however, said the government had failed to act despite having the authority to proceed.
Leader of Opposition in the state assembly and senior state BJP leader R Ashoka said more than 250,000 posts remained vacant and alleged that recruitment for 65,000 positions had been approved by the finance department six months ago but had not progressed. “It’s been more than six months since the finance department issued orders to fill 65,000 posts, but not even a single interview call was given. This is an anti-youth government,” he said.
He also accused Siddaramaiah and deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar of failing to address unemployment and focusing on internal political issues instead of job creation.
Responding to the criticism, Shivakumar said the previous BJP government had failed to fill vacancies when it was in power.
“Why did the BJP not fill the vacancies? We are doing it. Realising that there is a problem related to employment, we are giving ₹3,000 to them (as Yuva Nidhi guarantee to graduate unemployed youths). Now we are inviting applications,” he said.
He added that details of recruitment in his department had already been submitted to the Karnataka Public Service Commission.