Karnataka govt will look into Maharashtra offering jobs to Marathis: Jarkiholi

Mangalore Today News Network

Belagavi, March 22, 2025: Public Works Department and District Incharge Minister Satish Jarkiholi said that the state government and District Administration will look into the Maharashtra government’s decision to offer jobs and allow Marathi-medium candidates to appear for competitive examinations in the neighbouring state.

"It is difficult for state governments to provide employment even for their own people, so giving jobs to outsiders appears to be a challenge."

Jarkiholi told reporters on Saturday, "It is difficult for one state government to provide jobs for people from another state. The District Administration and state government will examine how Marathi-medium students from the district were allowed to apply for government jobs and appear for competitive examinations in Maharashtra."

He said, "The Kannada-Marathi linguistic issue has lost significance, and the intensity seen a few decades ago is no longer present. The Karnataka-Maharashtra boundary dispute is a closed chapter. Marathi-speaking people are integrating into the mainstream of the state. The Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES) has no relevance, and even if it is banned, its activists may resurface under a different name."

Regarding the Karnataka bandh called to protest against the assault on an NWKRTC bus conductor who had asked commuters to speak in Kannada because he could not speak Marathi, Jarkiholi said, "We have asked the activists to protest peacefully and not to disrupt school and college students."

He added, "Funds have been released for various developmental works in the district. The Deputy Commissioner’s office complex will be constructed in phases. An elevated corridor will be built using funds allocated for roads and bridges under the Public Works Department."