Representative image of job applicants.
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A job recruiter from Gujarat has sparked a controversy for posting a vacancy on LinkedIn with a discriminatory criterion. In the now-deleted post, freelance HR recruiter Janvi Sarna, among various details for the job of a Graphic Designer like location and salary, mentioned, "Marathi people are not welcome here".
After the post went viral on social media and drew flak from netizens, both the company and the HR recruiter issued apologies. However, ITCODE Infotech, the company mentioned in Sarna's LinkedIn profile, has denied any relations with her.
Sharing a screenshot of the job posting on X (formerly Twitter), tagging the Mumbai Police, Maharashtra IT cell, the Original Poster (OP) demanded strict action. Soon after, the HR recruiter deleted the post.
After repeated queries from LinkedIn users, ITCODE Infotech, an IT solutions company replied that the HR recruiter, currently embroiled in the discrimination controversy, does not belong to their organisation. They also claimed, "We love Marathi people".
"We strongly condemn the recent hateful post directed towards Marathi people by JANVI SARNA. It's important to clarify that she is not affiliated with our company in any capacity; she simply utilized our company name on LinkedIn, a platform open to anyone," Balkrushn Koladiya, founder and CEO of ITCODE wrote on LinkedIn.
"We have reached out to her for clarification, and she has since apologized and updated her current employment details, which you can verify. Additionally, we want to reiterate that we have not posted any job requirements recently. Please take note of this and refer to our previous hiring posts for verification," he added.
Meanwhile, Janvi Sarna also posted an apology through her account on LinkedIn. "I really apologize. A few days back I posted a graphic designer job opening post and because of a single objectionable sentence, many people's sentiments got hurt. This is to inform you that I don't endorse such comments which discriminate against anyone. It was due to my oversight, I posted this job opening here," the post read.
Sarna also clarified that the post was not related to ITCODE Infotech.
The post has however started a debate over discrimination faced by Marathi people. One the users wrote, "This discrimination is happening at many places in Mumbai, Pune, etc.. Native Marathi folks aren't hired deliberately. High time we Maharashtrians demand atleast 60% of all private jobs in Maharashtra to be reserved for native Maharashtrians."
"This is really very shameful," commented another user.
Some netizens have also pointed out that the post might be fake to create a rift between Gujarati and Marathi people.