Karnataka clears bill to tax temples, BJP slams Congress’s ’anti-Hindu policies’

Mangalore Today News Network

Bengaluru, Feb 22, 2024: The Karnataka government on Wednesday passed the Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowment bill in the Assembly. The bill mandates that the government will collect 10 per cent of the income of temples that have revenue of more than Rs 1 crore.

 

The BJP targeted the Congress-led Karnataka government over this bill, alleging that the state government is involved in "anti-Hindu policies" and there is bound to be misuse of the funds.

BJP’s Karnataka unit president Vijayendra Yediyurappa, in a post on X, said that the Congress government was trying to fill its "empty coffers" through this bill. The BJP leader further asked why the state government was only collecting revenue from Hindu temples and not other religious structures.

"The question on the minds of millions of devotees is why only Hindu temples are being eyed and not the income of other religious places," he wrote on X.

Karnataka’s transport minister and Congress leader Ramalinga Reddy dismissed the BJP’s accusations, saying, "The government isn’t taking the money, it will be used for ’dharmic parishad’ purposes."

"Even the BJP did this during their time, they took 5 per cent from temples with income between Rs 5 lakh to Rs 25 lakh. For income above Rs 25 lakh, they took 10 per cent," he told.

The minister said ’dharmik parishad’ purposes included upliftment of economically weaker priests, for the upliftment of C grade temples, and providing quality education to children of priests.

Courtesy: India Today