The Janata Dal Secular (JDS) has accused the Congress government in Karnataka of misusing temple funds for organising an 11-day public Dussehra festival in Tumakuru district. According to reports, JDS Taluk President B L Jagdish Nagarajaiah attacked the state government for ordering the district’s Muzrai temples to donate ₹49 to organise a public celebration in Tumakuru (also Tumkur) district.
An 11-day Dussehra festival was held between October 11, 2026 and October 21, 2026 at the Government Junior College grounds in Tumakuru city during Navratri. The festival was organized and hosted by the Tumakuru District Administration, under the leadership of the Deputy Commissioner (DC) and District Magistrate, in coordination with local municipal and religious endowment bodies.
To meet the expenses of daily worship, religious rituals, and related arrangements during the celebrations, Deputy Commissioner Shubha Kalyan issued an order on October 9, 2026, permitting the use of hundi collections from nine Category A temples and ten Category B Muzrai temples in the district.
Notably, Muzrai temples are Hindu temples in Karnataka that are administered, managed, or supported by the government through the Department of Religious and Charitable Endowments (historically called the Muzrai Department). The administration, financial auditing, land assets, and general upkeep of these temples fall under the state government as per the Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Act. Based on their annual revenue, the Muzrai temples have been divided into three main categories: Category A, Category B, and Category C.
Nagarajaiah strongly criticised the Congress government for using funds from the temple treasury of the Muzrai Department for the Tumakuru Dasara Festival program, calling it financially bankrupt. Speaking during a press conference on October 15, 2026, Nagarajaiah said that the Tumakuru District administration ordered the temples to donate the money without first obtaining permission from the Religious Endowments Department.
“The fact that the District Collector went out to receive money by just providing information without obtaining permission from the Religious Endowments Department is evidence of a needy district administration system,” Nagarajaiah said, and called for the withdrawal of the order. Nagarajaiah said that the money was donated by the devotees to the temples and not for funding a Dasara celebration organised by the District administration.
The JDS leader held that the Congress government is responsible for the poor economic condition of the state and said that while the state government dues of farmers have not been cleared in the state, the government is diverting temple funds to organise public events.
He questioned the need for spending temple money on organising such celebrations, while Karnataka’s official 10-day Mysore Dasara festival was already being organised. Nagarajaiah said that devotees make offerings to particular temples out of religious faith, and that these offerings should be used for those temples’ development and associated purposes. He added that the district administration’s order violates a previous order of the Karnataka government passed under the Basavaraj Bommai-led BJP government, which prohibited he use of hundi money of temples for purposes other than temple development.
It is reported that the Religious Endowments Department had objected to the proposed use of temple funds to cover the expenses associated with the religious ceremonies and the procession of the deity’s processional idol. The department has reportedly refused permission for the use of these funds.
The district administration reportedly ordered 19 Muzrai temples to donate money for the Tumauru Dasara festival as follows:
- Devarayanadurga Lakshminarasimhaswamy Temple – ₹4 lakh
- Siddalingeswaraswamy Temple in Edeyur, Kunigal Taluk – ₹5 lakh
- Ranganathaswamy Temple in Kunigal Betta – ₹4 lakh
- Rajatadripura Lakshminarasimhaswamy Temple in Tiptur – ₹4 lakh
- Dandinamaramma Temple in Madhugiri – ₹3 lakh
- Subramanyaswamy Temple in Nagalamadike – ₹2.50 lakh
- Chanmabasaveswaraswamy Temple in Gubbi – ₹2 lakh
- Siddharbetta Siddharaswamy Temple in Koratagere – ₹3.50 lakh
- Siddheshwaraswamy Temple in Chikkanayakanahalli – ₹2 lakh
- Siddheshwaraswamy Temple in Yelanadu – ₹2 lakh
- Shettyhalli Anjaneya and Yettenahalli Maramma Temples in Tumkur Taluk – ₹3 lakh
- Siddalingeswaraswamy Temple in Edeyur – ₹3 lakh
- Devarayanadurga Lakshminarasimhaswamy Temples – ₹5 lakh
- Venkataramana Swamy Temple in Thuruvekere, Byatarayaswamy Temple in Thuruvekere, Byatarayaswamy Temple in Nonavinakere, Siddalingeswara Swamy Temple in Chikkanayakanahalli, Lakshminarayanaswamy Temple in Madhugiri, Ramanjaneya Temple in Koratagere, and Kumaraswamy Temple in Koratagere – ₹7 lakh
- Huliyuramma Temple in Halevoor, Kunigal Taluk – ₹4 lakh
Nagarajaiah further said that during last year’s Kunigal festival and the Venkateswara Kalyanotsava, Congress MLAs had spent ₹50 lakh, which they had collected from the taluk administration.
