BENGALURU: The ruling BJP on Sunday slammed the Congress for opposing the Karnataka government’s move to bring in a law to free temples from state control. BJP national general secretary CT Ravi, who is in charge of Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Goa, told reporters that the Congress does not have the mindset to address issues pertaining to the majority community. "Their stand is negative," he said.
On Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai's announcement to introduce a bill in the next assembly session to free temples from government control, the senior BJP leader said Britishers took over temples not because they had respect for the Gods, but for the income they generated.
Opposition leader Siddaramaiah hit back, saying, "This is RSS agenda. Temples are independent even now. This is a plan to give the control of temples to someone else. The government budgetary allocation for temples is about Rs 350 crore. When this allocation is there, it means the most underprivileged citizen has the right to access the temple. To take away control of the temple is to take it away from the government."
Enough safeguards
According to Ravi, a government eyeing the revenue of temples is against the spirit of freedom of the country. Taking a dig at the Congress for opposing the anti-conversion bill, he said, “The anti-conversion law is only against forced conversion. The Congress should clarify whether it is in favour of forcible conversions.”
In response, Siddaramaiah said, "We too are against forced conversions. There are enough safeguards in the Constitution against forced conversions. Where is the need for a separate law? Our party will not tolerate hurting of Hindu sentiments. Anyone erecting statues of Jesus Christ or Buddha is not a problem, but trouble starts when the name of Kapali Hill is changed."
To this, Bengaluru Rural MP DK Suresh, in whose limits Kapali betta is located, said, "It has been a Christian village for about 200 years and the hillock is inside the village limits. We respect all religions, let them instal a statue of Sri Rama or Sri Hanuman, we will help them."