Karnataka govt mulls second attempt to get temple Bill passed

Also considering tabling Bill later when Congress has majority in the Council

THE CONGRESS government in Karnataka is considering passage of its temple funds amendment Bill in the state Assembly for a second time after the Bill was defeated in the Legislative Council by the Opposition BJPJDS combine Friday.

The Bill is also being considered for tabling at a later stage when the Congress has a majority in the Council, party leaders said.

Under the rules, as soon as possible, after a Bill which has once been passed by the House is received from the Council, with a message that it has not agreed to the Bill the House may pass the Bill again and transmit it as passed to the Council.

The karna t aka hindu religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments (Amendment) Bill, 2024 was intended to increase the common fund pool for managing the 34,563 temples under the state government's Muzrai (Religious and Charitable Endowments) Department. it was defeated 15:8, after it was put to vote by Legislative Council Deputy

Chairman mk pr a ne sh, even after the Siddaramaiah government agreed to make changes to it to meet some demands from the Opposition.

The BJP has 34 ML C Sin the 75 member upper house, while the JDS has eight and the Congress 30. One seat is vacant while the two remaining seats involve an Independent and the Chairman. In the 224-member Assembly, the Congress has a majority with 134 MLAS as against the BJP'S 66 and the JD(S)'S 19.

“If a Bill is rejected by the Council, the possibility of the Assembly passing it a second time is being considered,” a state law ministry official said.

State Congress chief and Deputy C MD K Shiva kumar, however, suggested the Bill could be considered a few months down the line( after the lo ks ab ha polls ), when the congress expects its tally to rise in the Council. “Our Bill would have helped priests in our state, by spending around 10% of collections from high-income temples on the welfare of priests and other staff of all temples, but they [BJP-JD(S)] defeated it. We will get it passed when we have a majority in upper house ,” he said.