Karnataka: Bill proposing to tax temples defeated in Council

In Karnataka, the high profile bill,the Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments (Amendment) Bill 2024, which proposes to impose 10 per cent tax on temples having revenues above Rs 1 crore failed to pass in the legislative council on Friday late evenung. Though the bill was passed in the state Assembly, it failed to pass in the legislative council where the BJP has more MLCs than Congress. In the Karnataka legislative council, the BJP has 35 members, Congress 30 and Janata Dal (Secular) has eight.As members of the BJP and the JD(S) raised objections, Deputy Chairman of the Council, MK Pranesh, called for a voice vote, in which the Bill was rejected after the opposition members voted against it.Seven members voted for the Bill, while 18 members voted against it.
The bill sparked a huge controversy in Karnataka with the opposition BJP accusing the Congress of implementing 'Anti-Hindu' policies.After flak regarding the government's amendments to the bill, state ministers Ramalinga Reddy and Dinesh Gundu Rao defended the move and criticised the BJP for its opposition to it.Minister for Transport, Ramalinga Reddy alleging that BJP is "anti-Hindu" claimed that the party which was in power in 2011 had made the amendments to the bill.
After the bill was cleared in the lower house of the state, former Chief Minister and BJP veteran BS Yediyurappa questioned why only Hindu temples are being scrutinized and not the incomes of other religions.Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that the allegations regarding the amendments to the bill "appear to be misrepresented", "aiming only at misleading the public" and "polarizing people along communal lines for political leverage."
Proposing the Bill in the Council, Transport and Muzrai Minister Ramalinga Reddy said that as per the present rules, the government is getting Rs 8 crore from the temples. After the new rule is passed, the government will earn Rs 60 crore and from these funds, the ‘C’ grade temples would be managed, Reddy said.Stating that there are more than 40,000 priests at the 34,165 ‘C’ grade temples across the state, the minister said, "We will provide funds to the priests to build homes and provide scholarships to their children. We also provide insurance cover to them."

( Dr Mysi Patil, State Correspondent)