Political tussle over Hindu temples in Karnataka

News Network
January 2, 2022

Bengaluru, Jan 2: The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Karnataka has again stirred the hornets' nest in the state by declaring that it will set more than 35,500 temples that come under the Muzarai department free from government regulations.

The Opposition, Congress, has said that it will not allow the BJP to enact such a law. State Congress President DK Shivakumar stated that a decision will be taken on this matter on January 4, after holding a meeting of its senior leaders.

The BJP's announcement came during the recent state executive committee meeting in Hubballi right after the Muzarai department took the decision of getting the temples audited.

Successive Congress governments and the secular leaders have not dared to touch upon the subject of bringing transparency in temple managements and holding powerful temple authorities responsible for accounts. Even the Siddaramaiah government, branded as anti-Hindu, did not address the issue. The recent decision of freeing temples from government control by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has surprised many.

The declaration has kicked off a debate in the state. Congress' Shivakumar has charged that the decision on temples will be a historical blunder. He said that the decision is a conspiracy to hand over the temples to the RSS and BJP leaders.

Chakravarthy Sulibele, the founder of Yuva Brigade, told IANS that the BJP has taken a good and wise decision to hand over the temples' managements to the Hindu community. The concept of 'taking control' originated during the time of the Mughals and the Britishers. The Britishers, being an occupying force, even brought legislation such as the 'Endowment Acts' to take control of Hindu temples, he said.

"When the government is managing the affairs, there is room for suspicion. Temple administrators take decisions at their convenience rather than the devotees' convenience. Wherever there is less money in the collection boxes before temples, they neglect them totally," he opined.

"The administrators will break all traditions when there is a VIP or minister's visit to the temple. In the temples where there is private management, such things are not encouraged. Here, they go against all the traditions to please ministers and block devotees. The total administration should go to community members," he said.

However, Shivakumar questioned how temples that come under the Muzarai department be given to community members for administration. He said that it is the wealth of the government, and that collections are in crores at these temples.

Actor and Tamil Nadu BJP leader Khushboo Sundar has praised the Karnataka BJP government for taking a stand to free the temples from the control of the government authorities. "It is an extremely important decision as every other religious institution is free, except temples," she said.

Chief Minister Bommai stated that Hindu temples have suffered a lot under the control of state authorities and bureaucrats. Several rules and by-laws are detrimental to the development of temples. The new bill will be brought before the cabinet before the budget session.

The temple authorities will be under the regulation of the government, but they will be able to utilise their funds for the development of temples without having to wait for the nod of the government, he maintained.

After the attacks by Shivakumar, Bommai has stated that "we are not handing over the temples to anyone. The temples are being freed from the regulations of the government. Shivakumar's opinion is against the Hindu temples and Hindu devotees."

Siddalnga Prabhu, member of the Rajya Dharmika Parishat, told IANS that it is a good decision, but that the disadvantages are more if one considers the pros and cons of the decision. Presently, deputy commissioners and administrators discuss the issues and there is accountability from the temples, he said. "The temples have properties and we have seen disputes and attempts to take away the land belonging to temples. Giving independence to 'A' and 'B' grade temples is okay as they have a good source of income. But, what about 'C' grade temples," he said.

Sources in the Muzarai department told IANS that the matter is yet to be discussed with the ministry. The fears expressed are about the temple money being taken by the government for other purposes. However, the income of temples will be deposited in bank accounts of the temples and it will be utilised for their development. The Muzarai department will take 10 per cent of the income and utilise it for the repair and renovation of 'C' grade temples. Since this is the case, there is no scope for freeing the temples, a senior official in the Muzarai department said.

Whenever a structure is registered as a mosque and prayer hall, it comes under the Karnataka State Wakf Board, which is a government body. There is a misconception and the government has to give more clarity on the issue, the official stated. The efforts by the Muzarai department to streamline the system at the famous Kukke Subramanya temple in Dakshina Kannada district is well appreciated by the devotees, the official said.

There are 1.80 lakh temples in Karnataka, among which 35,500 temples come under the Muzarai department. As per the records of the Muzarai department, there are 207 'A' grade temples that get an annual income of more than Rs 25 lakh, 139 'B' grade temples that have an income between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 24.99 lakh. These 'A' and 'B' grade temples are required to submit accounts annually, as mandated by the law.

Only four temples in the state i.e. Chamundeshwari temple of Mysuru, Yediyur Siddalingeshwara temple, Ghati Subramanya temple and Banashankari temple of Bengaluru are submitting audit reports every year. Barring these temples, cash-rich temples and the managements of those temples having huge incomes through commercial activities and commercial complexes have not submitted accounts.

At a time when temple accountability is being sought and powerful temple managements are warned of legal action, the announcement by CM Bommai has raised many questions. With the Opposition Congress' declaration that it won't let it happen — after the Anti-conversion Bill and the ban on cow slaughter — the stage is all set for a 'temple dangal' in the state in the coming days.

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News Network
April 4,2025

gazainvasion.jpg

Israel has announced the launch of a new ground onslaught in Gaza City, with rescuers saying military aggression has killed at least 30 people across the Palestinian territory since dawn.

In Gaza City, the Israeli military said ground troops had begun pushing into the Shejaiya neighborhood to expand the so-called "security zone" there, claiming that civilians had been allowed to evacuate the area. 

Initial reports, however, said a Palestinian woman and her daughter were just killed in an Israeli artillery shelling on displaced people in Shejaiya.

Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli military aggression had killed at least 30 people in the Palestinian territory since dawn, adding that the toll was "not final".

A single Israeli strike on Khan Yunis killed at least 25 people, a medical source at the southern city's Nasser Hospital said. 

"The situation is very dangerous, and there is death coming at us from every direction," Elena Halas told AFP reportedly via text message, adding that she and her family were trapped in her sister's house in Shejaiya.

Israel has pushed since the collapse of a short-lived truce in the war to seize territory in Gaza. Simultaneously, it has escalated attacks on Lebanon and Syria, with a strike in the south Lebanese city of Sidon killing a Hamas commander along with his son on Friday. 

Minister of military affairs Israel Katz had said on Wednesday that Israel would bolster its military presence inside the Gaza Strip to "seize large areas that will be incorporated into Israeli security zones", without specifying how much territory.

Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military was dividing Gaza and "seizing territory" to force Hamas to free the remaining captives seized in the October 2023 operation inside southern settlements. 

Netanyahu has said his regime is working closely with the US to implement President Donald Trump's plan to displace Gazans.

Latest air raids have targeted Gaza City, as well as Beit Lahia, Rafah, and Khan Yunis, killing dozens of people and injuring several others.

On Thursday, hundreds of thousands of fleeing Gazans sought shelter in one of the biggest mass displacements of the war, as Israeli forces advanced into the ruins of the city of Rafah. 

A day after declaring their intention to capture large swathes of the crowded territory, Israeli forces pushed into the city on Gaza's southern edge which had served as a last refuge for people fleeing other areas for much of the war.

The Ministry of Health in Gaza said on Thursday that 112 Palestinians were killed by Israeli airstrikes, with at least 70 of those deaths taking place in Gaza City, in the north of the strip. 

Gaza's civil defense agency said women and children were among the dead, while six people were still unaccounted for in the strike on Dar al-Arqam School in the al-Tuffah neighborhood, northeast of Gaza City, including a pregnant woman who was expecting twins. 

Beit Hanoun Mayor Mohammad Nazek Al-Kafarna was one of the victims of the Israeli strike that hit the school on Thursday.

The Health Ministry said on Thursday that 1,163 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory since Israel resumed intense bombing on March 18, bringing the overall death toll since the war began to 50,523.

The usurping entity accepted longstanding negotiation terms by the Hamas resistance group under a Gaza ceasefire, which began on January 19.

On March 18, however, Israel unilaterally broke the truce and resumed its relentless bombing of Gaza.

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News Network
March 21,2025

Bengaluru: The Karnataka Assembly on Friday passed Bills doubling the salaries of the chief minister, ministers, and legislators, adding an annual burden of ₹62 crore on the exchequer.

The CM's monthly salary will increase from ₹75,000 to ₹1.5 lakh, while ministers will see a 108% hike, from ₹60,000 to ₹1.25 lakh. MLAs and MLCs will get ₹80,000 per month, up from ₹40,000, and their pension will rise from ₹50,000 to ₹75,000.

The Karnataka Ministers Salaries and Allowances (Amendment) Bill and the Karnataka Legislature Salaries, Pensions and Allowances (Amendment) Bill were passed without debate, as the Opposition BJP protested in the well of the House.

The Bills cited the rising cost of living as justification for the hike. The Assembly Speaker and Legislative Council chairperson will now receive ₹1.25 lakh per month, up from ₹75,000.

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