Karnataka: Temple tax legislation passed in both Houses
The Bill, which was passed by voice vote, will now be sent to governor Thawaarchand Gehlot for his assent to become an Act
The contentious Hindu Religious and Temple Endowments (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which was earlier defeated in the Karnataka Legislative Council by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal (Secular-JDS) combine on February 23 was passed by both houses of the legislature on Thursday.
The Bill, which was passed by voice vote, will now be sent to governor Thawaarchand Gehlot for his assent to become an Act.
Tabling the Bill once again in the assembly, Muzrai minister Ramalinga Reddy said: “The Bill had been passed in the House but defeated in the Council. I request once again to pass the Bill.’’
‘Muzrai’ refers to grants made by the government for religious and charitable purposes as well as the upkeep of religious and charitable institutions, according to the Karnataka Government Gazetteer. The department of Religious and Charitable Endowments is, hence, popularly known as the Muzrai department
After the Bill was defeated in the Council, the Karnataka Hindu Temple Archakas (Priests) Association on February 25 had accused the BJP of “using temples” to gain votes ahead of the Lok Sabha elections and said that they were united against the “false propaganda.”
The association members said they were getting ₹ 5,000 as salary per month which includes the items required for pooja. “Nobody came to our support and when the Muzrai minister is trying to do something for the upliftment of the temples ... he should not be obstructed,” a member of the association said on Thursday. “A party which claims to represent the interests of the Hindus has done injustice to the community,’’ the association members said.
The Bill seeks to help the 35,000 Hindu temples and their families with less income. It envisages increasing the burden on revenue earning temples and passing the extra funds to temples with lesser income. The funds would be used to support the priests and their children for education and for other needs.
The Opposition BJP and the JD(S) were not present in the assembly when the bill was passed on Thursday, as they had staged a walkout earlier in the day, demanding the Congress government’s resignation for its “inaction” in nabbing the culprits who allegedly shouted the ‘Pakistan zindabad’ slogans after Congress member Syed Naseer Hussain was declared elected to the Rajya Sabha.
There are around 35,000 temples under Muzrai department, of which 205 whose income exceeds ₹25 lakh per year are categorised as Group A, 193 with incomes between ₹5 lakh and ₹25 lakh are Group B and around 34,000 temples with incomes below ₹5 lakh are Group C.