Bengaluru: The Congress government in Karnataka could not pass the Hindu Religious Endowment Amendment Bill (popularly known as the temple tax bill) in the Legislative Assembly due to the lack of strength of the government in the State's Council.
The Bill mandates the state to collect 10% tax from temples generating revenue exceeding £100,000 and 5% from shrines with revenue of between ₹10,00,000 and £100,000.
As the government placed the Religious Endowment Amendment bill inside the assembly, the opposition expressed great displeasure against it. Amid opposition pressure, Karnataka Minister Ramalinga Reddy said that he will present the bill again later.
However, Deputy Chairman of Karnataka Legislative Council Pranesh had objected to this. He cited that once a bill has been discussed, it cannot be postponed.
Following this, the house was adjourned for 10 minutes to discuss and decide.
When the voting procedure started for the Religious Endowment Bill, though a large number of BJP and opposition members participated, only five members of the ruling party were present.
As expected, more MLAs voted against the bill in the Assembly, than those who supported it. Hence, the bill failed to pass. As the bill fell, BJP members raised 'Jai Shree Ram' slogans while Congress members shouted 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai'.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that the allegations regarding the amendments to the Bill "appear to be misrepresented", "aiming only at misleading the public" and "polarizing people along communal lines for political leverage."