‘CM Siddaramaiah stealing from temple collection boxes’: BJP opposes Karnataka Bill to open Common Pool Fund

Muzrai minister Ramalinga Reddy who introduced the amendments said in the Assembly that the fund will be used to provide various amenities to temples, insurance cover and death relief fund for archaks (temple priests), and scholarships to children from families of around 40,000 archaks.

Leader of Opposition R Ashok said that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was “stealing from the collection boxes of temples”, and alleged that the government was looking to collect “10% commission from the income of temples”.

There are around 35,000 temples under Muzrai Department, of which 205 whose income exceeds Rs 25 lakh per year are categorised as Group A, 193 with incomes between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 25 lakh are Group B and around 34,000 temples with incomes below 5 lakh are Group C.

Till date, Group A temples contributed 10 per cent of the revenue generated from collection boxes to a Central Fund and Group B contributed five per cent. There were no contributions from Group C temples.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said there “has always been a mandate to create a common pool since the enactment of the Act in 1997 … The common pool is administered solely for religious purposes connected with the Hindu religion. The Common Pool Fund has been utilised only for the religious purposes of Hindu institutions since the Act came into force in 2003, and it will continue to be used for the same purposes in the future.”

The baseless allegations by BJP leaders, he said, were aimed only at misleading the public and polarising people along communal lines for political leverage. “BJP leaders should be ashamed of their unethical practices,” he said.

As per the amendment, temples with incomes above Rs 1 crore will have to contribute 10 per cent to the Common Pool Fund, and temples generating Rs 10 lakh to Rs 1 crore revenue should chip in five per cent to the fund. Temples with incomes below Rs 10 lakh will not have to contribute at all, Reddy said.

The funds will be under Rajya Dharmika Parishat and will be used to grant aid primarily to Category C temples apart from providing welfare measures to families of archaks and other employees at these temples, he said.

The state high-level committee and district high-level committees were also formed to review and submit proposals for amenities at Group A temples.

The Bill was passed without much Opposition in the Legislative Assembly Wednesday. Later in the evening, BJP state president B Y Vijayendra tweeted accusing the Congress government of “turning its evil eye” to the incomes of Hindu temples to fill its coffers.

“The amendments allow the government to collect 10 per cent of revenues from temples with incomes of Rs one crore or more… The question from crores of devotees is why was the government eyeing the incomes of Hindu temples when it is not interested in the revenue of other religions,” he said.

Reddy hit back, saying the original amendments which was passed by the Assembly Wednesday was in existence since 2001, but was not implemented. “Did your BJP government neglect its responsibilities between 2008 and 2013, as well as from 2019 to 2023? It seems they turned a blind eye to the revenues of Hindu religious institutions and charitable endowments, despite the existence of acts or bills in place since 2001,” he said.

Such strategy of religious rhetoric for political gains, Reddy said, would fail in Karnataka as in the 2023 polls.

Vijayendra, who continued his salvo against the state government, told reporters that rather than taking money from temples, “the government should keep a collection box in front of Vidhana Soudha with a sign saying ‘We cannot run the government and have a financial problem’.”

It is unfortunate that the government has stooped to this level, he alleged.