The amendments to the Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Act, 1997, was passed in the state assembly on Wednesday, sparking controversy. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal (Secular) labeled it as an anti-Hindu move by the ruling Congress government. They alleged that the Siddaramaiah-led government plans to misuse the 10 percent tax from temple income exceeding Rs 1 crore by allocating it to other religious institutions. However, the Bill was subsequently rejected in the Karnataka Council on Friday, as the ruling Congress government lacked the majority.
After its stand, the BJP is in a fix now, as the Akhila Karnataka Hindu Temple Priests’ Association has slammed the party for allegedly spreading false propaganda for political gains ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
The association claimed that many Archakas (Priests) lost their lands during the kingdom’s rule, as many were handed over to farmers for farming. Since then, priests have been performing poojas to continue uplifting Hindu culture. Thus, for nearly 30 years, the priests have been struggling for a better life.
“We are presently getting only Rs 5,000 as our salary that includes the pooja ingredients also. Who has raised a strong voice for us like the present Karnataka Endowment Minister Ramalinga Reddy has done? The mentioned amount is going to be used for upliftment of C grade temples and for priests only. We are very happy with this decision,” said KSN Deekshith, Chief Secretary of the Karnataka Priest Association.
Expressing disappointment, Deekshith said that there “should never be politics on temples”.
“Don’t know why BJP and JDS are opposing this. We are very disappointed with the misleading propaganda being spread for political gains,” he added.
The Akhila Karnataka Hindu Temple Archakas (priests) Association, in its determination, has also decided to submit memorandums to all BJP and JDS leaders, urging them not to oppose the present government’s amendments to the Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Act, 1997, in order to support the priests.
There are a total of 34,563 temples in Karnataka under the Muzrai (Hindu religious endowment) department, categorized as grade A, B, and C based on their revenue generation. Temples with revenue above Rs 25 lakh fall under category A, 139 temples with revenue between Rs five lakh to Rs 25 lakh fall under category B, and 34,217 temples with less than Rs 5 lakh annual revenue are categorized under category C.
WHAT IS 10% TEMPLE TAX?
The Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowment bill mandates the collection of 10 percent of the income from Hindu temples with gross income exceeding Rs 1 crore by the state government and five percent of the net income of institutions whose gross annual income exceeds ten lakhs’ rupees but does not exceed one crore rupees.
The government claims that the collected funds will be used by the endowment department for uplifting the economic status of priests, improving the condition of C-grade temples (temples considered to be in poor condition), and providing quality education to the children of priests.
WHAT DID THE EARLIER 2001 ACT STATE?
The Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowment Act, 1997 (Karnataka Act 33 of 2001), states that ten percent of the net income of temples, whose gross annual income exceeds ten lakhs’ rupees, and five percent of the net income of institutions, whose gross annual income exceeds five lakhs’ rupees but does not exceed ten lakhs’ rupees, will go to the state government.
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