Karnataka amends law to earn 10% commission from rich temples

Opposition tears into Congress, says why other religious bodies exempted

Govt defends move, says it is for welfare of temple priests and personnel

In what is perceived as a direct attack on Hindus, the Karnataka government passed a bill that gives it unfettered powers to take a commission of 10% from such temples which have an annual revenue of Rs 1 crore and more. 

Condemning such a move, state BJP Chief BY Vijayendra said, “The government is in such a state that it doesn’t even have the money to pay government workers. That is the reason why it has decided to dig into the earnings of rich temples. Instead, they can keep a hundi (collection box) in Vidhana Soudha itself. It has given a grant of not even a rupee to the 224 constituencies in the state.”  

To this, Priyank Kharge, IT/BT Minister hit back saying, “We discuss all bills before passing them. Why didn’t they oppose it on the floor of the house? We have also given a grant of Rs 100 crore. Our government has also given copious amounts of land for the construction of Ramayana museum. By the way, the BJP didn’t give anything like this while in power.”  

While the heated debates continue, the bill also provides an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh to the next of kin of the priests and temple personnel.