Karnataka passes bill to tax temples in state, BJP slams Congress' govt

BJP has slammed the Congress government in Karnataka after the state Assembly passed the 'Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Bill 2024' on Wednesday. According to the bill, temples with income between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 1 crore will pay 5 per cent to the government, while temples earning above Rs 1 crore will pay 10 percent. The bill has triggered a war of words between the ruling Congress and BJP.

BJP state unit chief BY Vijayendra portrayed this levy as the government's plan to 'gobble up' temple revenue. Hitting back at BJP, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said Vijayendra is a good fit for the post of BJP state chief as he is inclined to lying, and pointed out that funds collected from temples are used for the sole purpose of Hindu institutions and Hindu community welfare alone, and not for any other religious communities or purposes, contrary to the opposition party's claims. 

The chief minister said the levy has been misrepresented for political gain. There has always been a mandate to create a common pool since the enactment of the Act in 1997, he underlined. CM Siddaramaiah also shared a graphic on X that claimed to bust the "BJP's fake news". It said Hindu temples have contributed to a fund for religious activities. "The recent amendment was made solely to enhance the amount of the common pool," Siddaramaiah said.

pic.twitter.com/5DAToWylZX

— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) February 22, 2024

The Common Pool Fund has been utilized 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, CM Siddaramaiah said in a statement, adding that, before the recent amendment, the contributions to the fund came from:

(i) 10 percent of the net income of institutions whose gross annual income exceeds Rs 10 lakhs (ii) 5 percent of the net income of institutions whose gross annual income exceeds Rs 5 lakh but does not exceed Rs 10 lakhs and (iii) grants received from the State Government.

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

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