Jawaharlal Nehru University, a prominent leftist stronghold, is embroiled in yet another controversy. On Wednesday (20th March), anti-Hindu slogans were raised in the varsity, and a video of the incident has gone viral online. The video shows students shouting slogans like, “Mile Phule-Kanshi Ram, Hawa Mein Ud Gaye Jai Shri Ram” during the night. Moreover, “Brahmanwad se azadi” (freedom from Brahminism) and “Free Palestine” slogans were also raised amidst the sounds of trumpets and Dhols.
"Hawa Me Ud gaye Jai Shri Ram" such abusive slogans are being raised in JNU.
It is pertinent to recall that in the 1990s (1993), when the SP-BSP allied against the BJP, supporters of both parties used to chant‘Mile Mulayam-Kanshi Ram, Hawa Mein Ud Gaye Jai Shri Ram‘. As can be heard in the viral video, ‘Azadi‘ slogans were again chanted loudly in JNU. In addition, derogatory slogans were raised against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Notably, this is the same JNU where slogans like ‘Afzal, hum sharminda hain, tere qatil zinda hain‘ were chanted in support of the terrorist who attacked Parliament. Besides this, slogans such as ‘Bharat there tukde honge Inshallah Inshallah‘ were raised in the University.
JNU’s student union elections will take place on the 22nd of March. Until recently, only Leftist student leaders have won from here, but this time the competition is fierce with ABVP fielding a victim of leftist violence as its candidate.
Umesh Chandra Ajmeera of Warangal, a member of the tribal Banjara community, has been fielded by the ABVP. Umesh’s father Sitaraman Nayak Ajmeera was murdered by Naxalites in 1997 when he was four years old. After his father’s demise, Umesh’s mother Sammakka Ajmeera was forcibly converted. Distressed by her husband’s murder and forced religious conversion, his mother passed away shortly after his father’s demise.
Despite these hardships and hailing from a Naxal-infected village, Umesh completed his primary education at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in United States Studies at JNU. Umesh has also received the JRF Award in Political Science. He came in contact with ABVP when he joined JNU for higher education.
The State Bank of India on Thursday, 21 March, filed an affidavit with the Supreme Court informing that it has submitted all details related to Electoral Bonds, including the bond numbers to the Election Commission of India. The apex court on 18th March had ordered the SBI to disclose all data it has related to the bonds, after the data bank provided by the bank was deemed incomplete as it didn’t include the bond numbers, and the donors could not be linked to the political parties.
The SC had ordered the SBI to submit all details related to Electoral Bonds in its possession to the Election Commission, and the ECI is to publish the data on its website. The court had also ordered SBI chairman Dinesh Kumar Khara to file an affidavit by 5 PM on Thursday stating that all details in its custody have been disclosed and that no information has been suppressed.
Accordingly, the SBI MD filed the affidavit today, which states that the bank has provided /disclosed all details of the electoral bonds which are in its possession and custody to the Election Commission of India. The bank also attached a copy of proof of service along with the affidavit.
Electoral Bonds: State Bank of India (SBI) Chairman files compliance affidavit in Supreme Court saying that all details of Electoral Bonds, including the alphanumeric numbers, have been disclosed to the Election Commission.
The affidavit states that it has provided two sets of data related to electoral, one for purchasers of bonds and the other for political parties that received the bonds. The details were submitted to the ECI on 20 March in two sealed envelopes. One envelope contained a pen drive with two PDF files, one containing all details of the purchase of electoral bonds, and the other with the details of political parties that received the bonds. The PDF files are password protected, and the passwords were provided separately in the second envelope. SBI said that it will provide the hard of the details later, if and when required.
The details of the purchaser include Sr. No., URN No., Journal Date, Date of Purchase, Date of Expiry, Name of the purchaser, Prefix, Bond Number, Denomination, Issue Branch Code, Issue Teller, and Status.
The details of the redemption by Political Parties have the Sr. No., Date of Encashment, Name of the Political Party, Last four digit of account number, Prefix, Bond Number, Denomination, Pay Branch Code, and Pay Teller.
The bank states that the prefix and the bond number is in fact the alphanumeric number. This alphanumeric number is printed on the electoral bonds with invisible ink. Which means, they are not visible to naked eye, but can be seen under ultraviolet. The bank during the last hearing had said that it is a security feature.
After the ECI publishes the data submitted by the State Bank of India, it will be possible to find which donor donated to which political party using the electoral bonds. While some parties like DMK and AIDMK have published the names of donors of electoral bonds, most parties have not. Some parties have cited the law enabling to withheld the information, while others like TMC and JDU said bonds were donated to them anonymously and some bonds were dropped in drop boxes, therefore they can’t identify the donors.
The ninth accused in the murder of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) councilor Hiren Patel in Gujarat’s Dahod was taken into custody by the authorities on 20th March, four years after the incident. The man has been identified as 24-year-old Mohammad Irfan Bisti of Ujjain. He was apprehended by the Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS). He has been evading the police and running a hair salon business along with his wife under a new name in Indore in an attempt to conceal his identity.
This crime has been characterized in the police reports as a “contract killing” and a murder motivated by political rivalry. Hiren Patel, a BJP politician was run down by an automobile on 27th September 2020, around four years ago while out for a morning walk. Amit Katara, the son of former Dahod MP Babubhai Katara and brother of Congress MLA Bhavesh Katara, planned the conspiracy to assassinate Hiren Patel.
Following the death, a case was registered and eight people were nabbed in connection to the instance. The main contract killer turned out to be Imran Gudala from Mewat who executed the conspiracy after taking money from Amit Katara. Irfan’s name transpired after Imran was captured. However, the latter fled as soon as his identity was revealed.
Six of the eight people who were imprisoned were charged by Jhalod police in January 2021 with culpable homicide amounting to murder and criminal conspiracy. “After the incident, they (the accused) fled to Indore. When Irfan realised that his name was out and the police were searching for him, he fled to Khajrana, Indore, and had been hiding there with his wife, using his real name, Irfan Abbas. Irfan started a hair salon with his wife in Indore as a part of their disguise,” stated Deputy Superintendent of Police Harsh Upadhyay.
The official added, “The Gujarat ATS unit received the information about Irfan’s whereabouts, which was also shared with senior officials of Madhya Pradesh ATS. With the help of the Indore unit of Madhya Pradesh ATS, Gujarat ATS Inspector VN Vaghela, along with his team, arrested Irfan Bisti. Upon questioning, Irfan admitted his involvement in the murder of Hiren Patel. A contract amount of Rs. 25,000-plus was promised to Irfan as a deal for the contract killing of Hiren Patel, which he admitted to during the police interrogation.”
According to police, Irfan Bisti travelled from Indore to Jhalod to carry out the murder plot with his accomplices and co-accused parties. The BJP leader went for a daily stroll around six in the morning on the fateful day when the culprits struck the man with an LMV at Jhalod’s Muwada intersection. He suffered fatal injuries as a result of the powerful impact. The assailants, according to the police, undertook a reconnaissance of his usual morning walk route. Hiren Patel served as a corporator at the Jhalod municipality.
The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the March 20 notification of Fact Check Unit by the Centre government under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules 2023 (IT Amendment Rules 2023).
A bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra put on hold the notification till the Bombay High Court finally decides the challenges to the IT Rules Amendment 2023.
The bench stayed the notification till third judge of Bombay High Court gives its verdict after completing hearing on legality of Rules setting up FCU.
Earlier, the Bombay High Court had delivered a split decision. The third judge is hearing the case after split verdict from a division bench of High Court on validity of FCU.
The Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) on Wednesday notified the FCU under the Press Information Bureau as a statutory body with powers to flag what it believes is false information related to the Central government and its agencies on social media sites.
The amended IT Rules, which came into effect in April 2023, empowers the FCU to monitor content on social media and flag alleged pieces of misinformation concerning the business of the Centre.
Editors Guild of India, standup comedian Kunal Kamra and others challenged the changes in the Information Technology (IT) Rules that empowers the government to identify “fake news” about itself on social media platforms.
The apex court was hearing petitions seeking an interim stay on the Central government notification for forming FCUs.
The IT Amendment Rules 2023 amended the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (IT Rules 2021).
This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
In a major development, Javed, the second accused involved in the murder of two Hindu boys Aayush and Ahaan in Uttar Pradesh’s Badaun was arrested from Bareilly late on the night of 20th March. His brother Sajid, who allegedly killed the boys, has already been killed in a police encounter.
After his arrest, Javed claimed innocence, saying that Sajid alone committed the crime and he was not part of it. He claimed, “I went to Badaun but there was a lot of crowd. I absconded to Delhi and came directly to Bareilly from there to surrender. I have call recordings of people informing me that my brother has committed the crime. Take me to the authorities. I am a very simple and innocent person. He was my elder brother and he had done it. I didn’t do anything.”
“My name is Mohammad Javed and I am from Badaun,” he confirmed when people around him inquired about his identity. He again pleaded, “Please hand me over to the cops.” The people also checked his ID. He claimed that they shared a very good relationship with the family of the victims and he is still unaware of the motivation behind the heinous act. “Beat me if you want but I swear on my mother I’m innocent,” he said although the people assured him that they won’t do anything to him.
Javed had turned off his phone after the horrifying event and escaped to Delhi. According to accounts, he was apprehended by locals at the satellite bus stop and turned over to the cops.
“Hand me over to police”
Budaun double murder accused Javed says after hearing about brother’s encounter pic.twitter.com/W1eyPLWbrs
Javed allegedly injured himself in an effort to avoid a possible confrontation before arriving at the police station. The accused resorted to self-harm as a preventative tactic because he knew that if he got hurt, the cops would take care of his medical requirements immediately. Javed claimed he was innocent and uninvolved in the deaths of the two youngsters out of fear of being encountered by the police.
Alok Priyadarshi, Senior Superintendent of Police verified the news of the arrest to the media and added that further investigation would proceed after Javed’s interrogation who is being transported to Badaun. The officer noted that the pressure from the probe and the Rs 25,000 award the police had offered for the offender were the reasons behind the development.
#WATCH | Budaun Double Murder Case | Budaun SSP Alok Priyadarshi says, "The second accused, Javed – who is the brother of accused Sajid, has been arrested by the District Police…He surrendered in Bareilly, his video is viral…After talking to the officers, our team is bringing… pic.twitter.com/hgt3vDAU4V
Sajid and Javed, who ran barbershops in Badaun, murdered two Hindu boys Aayush and Ahaan alias Honey on the evening of 19th March. After the murders, Sajid fled the scene and was eliminated in an encounter with the state police the same day. The accused also tried to kill Piyush, the brother of the victims, but he managed to escape with injuries.
The ASI survey of the Bhojshala complex in the Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh will start on Friday (22nd March). Following the High Court’s directive, the Additional Director of the Archaeological Survey of India has written a letter to Indore Divisional Commissioner, Collector Dhar, SP Dhar in this regard. Earlier on 11th March, the Madhya Pradesh High Court (Indore bench) directed the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to conduct a scientific investigation, survey, and excavation at the Bhojshala complex.
ASI has further been directed to submit its report before the next hearing on 29th April.
Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain representing the Hindu community in the court case shared this information from his X handle. He wrote, “ASI survey to start in Bhojshala from tomorrow i.e 22.03.2024.”
Asi survey to start in bhojshala from tomorrow i.e 22.03.2024
Notably, the 11th-century Bhojshala is an ASI-protected monument. Hindus believe it is a temple of Goddess Vagdevi (Saraswati) but the Muslim side disputes it claiming that it is Kamal Maula Mosque.
A bench of Justices SA Dharmadhikari and Devnarayan Mishra allowed the ASI survey of the complex while hearing an interlocutory application filed in a pending writ petition. The writ petition pending before the court was filed by the Hindu Front for Justice seeking a scientific survey of the Bhojshala premises and to reclaim it on behalf of the Hindus.
On Wednesday (May 11), the Madhya Pradesh High Court also admitted a petition seeking a stay on the offering of Namaz by Muslims in the complex of the Bhojshala monument in the Dhar district of the State.
As per the arrangements made by the ASI on 7th April 2003, Hindus perform puja at the Bhojshala complex every Tuesday, while Muslims offer namaz there every Friday.
However, on 2nd May 2023, the Hindu Front for Justice filed a PIL challenging the ASI order. Apart from the ASI survey and reclamation of the Bhojshala, they have also sought a ban on the members of the Muslim community from offering namaz on its premises.
Earlier in September last year, the guards reportedly found an idol of Goddess Vagdevi between 9th and 10th September. However, the administration had denied the claim of the idols ‘appearing’ and removed it.
On Wednesday (20th March) Navghar Police Station in Mumbai’s Mira Road region booked an individual identified as Mujahid Sheikh for derogatory, hateful posts targeting Hindu religious beliefs. The accused is also said to have insulted Prime Minister Narendra Modi by calling him ‘Satyanashi Baba’ (annihilator).
The accused Mujahid Sheikh used the photograph of the Hindu saint ‘Guru Swami Samarth’ and replaced its face with that of PM Modi. The same photograph was published by the accused on his Facebook page with the caption ‘Swami Satyanashi Maharaj’. The accused through the post indicated that PM Modi was an annihilator. He also directly attempted to hurt the religious sentiments of the Hindus by using the image of Hindu saint Swami Samarth that is worshipped in many Hindu households.
Derogatory image of Lord Swami Samarth (Image obtained by OpIndia)
The Navghar Police station at Vasai Virar region filed a police complaint against the accused under sections 153A, 295A of the Indian Penal Code and section 66C of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
FIR copy obtained by OpIndia
The said complaint was booked after the BJP MLA Geeta Jain from the Mira Road region issued a letter directing strict action against the accused. “The accused has caused insult to the great Hindu saint Swami Samarth by distorting his image. Swami is one of the greatest Hindu saints worshipped by many in Maharashtra. Further, he has not only insulted the Hindu Lord but also PM Modi by calling him an annihilator,” the letter by Jain read.
Further, the BJP MLA sought action against the accused under sections 124, 124A, 153A, 295A, 500, 504, and 506 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and sections 66 and 67 of the IT Act, 2000.
Letter issued by BJP MLA Geeta Jain specifically obtained by OpIndia
OpIndia has obtained the FIR copy in the case. The complainant in the complaint mentioned that the accused has hurt the religious sentiments of the Hindu community by insulting Lord Swami Samarth and PM Modi. The FIR in the case has been filed under section 153A, 295A of the Indian Penal Code and section 66C of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
Notably, BJP MLA Geeta Jain while exclusively talking to OpIndia mentioned that the accused is a repeat offender and that he has been creating chaos in the Mira Road region in the past too.
“This is not the first time that Mujahid Sheikh has insulted the Hindus. He keeps on doing it often. The communal situation in Mira Road has just calmed down and someone from a specific community doing something like this is very serious. He has insulted Swami Samarth primarily and also PM Modi, both of these things are highly condemnable. Strict action in this case needs to be taken,” Jain said.
Team OpIndia contacted the Police to learn more about the case. PI Patil of the Navghar Police Station informed that the accused has been booked but efforts are being made to execute his arrest. The Police meanwhile also informed that the said controversial post has been taken down by the accused.
Investigations in the case are underway.
Mira Road has been communally sensitive
It is important to note that the Mira Road region in Mumbai is a Muslim-dominant area and has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. The Police recently caught 8 illegal Rohingya Muslims from the coastal area of Uttan near Bhayandar. The 8 accused persons originally from Myanmar were charged under the Foreigners Act as well as Passport Entry in India Rules for illegally entering the country.
In June 2023, massive controversy erupted in the capital city of Maharashtra after one of the Muslim families living in a society on Mira Road, Mumbai brought two goats a day ahead of Bakrid (Bakra-eid, Eid-Ul-Adha). The society members happened to refuse the Muslim family to get the goats inside the society premises for slaughter and said that they wouldn’t allow any kind of slaughtering activity within the society premises. However, chaos erupted after the Muslim family claimed that they were harassed by the society members.
In the second crucial incident that was reported recently in January 2024, the Islamists attacked Hindus with stones, iron rods, sticks, and bamboo, leaving over a dozen people who participated in rallies to commemorate the return of Lord Ram in Ayodhya injured.
In the incident reported from Mira Road, Mumbai, Islamists also disrespected the Hindu religion and hurt the Hindu religious sentiments by tearing flags bearing images of Lord Hanuman. Islamists are also said to have vomited over the flags causing disrespect to the Hindu faith.
Recently, OpIndia also recorded 15 brutal cases of forceful conversion and community crimes from the Mira Road region in the past year. Hindus, especially the women in the region have been deliberately harassed and then forced to convert their religion to Islam. OpIndia accounted for 15 such cases. The detailed analysis of these reports can be read here.
Days after food aggregator Zomato launched a pure veg fleet to serve its pure veg customers and received online backlash from wokes and liberals for the same. Meanwhile, an ‘advertisement’ attributed to Swiggy taking a swipe at Zomato surfaced on social media.
On the 20th of March, several X users shared an alleged Swiggy ad titled: “Eviction-Safe Food Delivery”, which depicts a food delivery man at a customer’s door with an order, while in the background, a few men appear to be following another delivery person wearing a green t-shirt with sticks in their hands.
The text in the ‘advertisement’ read, “Eviction-safe food delivery. In Indian neighbourhoods, your dietary preferences are best kept private. Our delivery fleet doesn’t leak your private habits to the world. You also save some money as we don’t have to pay for the life insurance of our delivery staff against mob lynchings.”
An online troll Salil Tripathi shared the said ‘ad’ and wrote, “Well played @Swiggy!”
Another online user wrote, “New swiggy ad amid the Zomato PURE veg issue.”
As this advertisement attributed to Swiggy went viral online, the food aggregator issued a statement and said, “We came across a fake ad this morning regarding a recent controversy. If it isn’t already obvious, this is NOT an ad by Swiggy. It was neither created by us nor anybody affiliated with Swiggy. Kindly refrain from circulating or attributing it to Swiggy.”
Notably, this fake advertisement featuring an AI-generated image was created by an X user and a “Swiggy fan” Nilesh whose X post read, “New #Swiggy ad hits hard.” Although Nilesh added “/s” meaning sarcasm, the fake ad went viral as “real”.
In an additional post, Nilesh clarified that it was a sarcastic post and said that he added sufficient clues. “This image is not an authentic ad by Swiggy. It is sarcasm/satire/parody. I thought I had dropped sufficient clues: – “/s” – Snarky language – Bad graphic design – AI-generated art – Corporations taking a stand with an apparent spine But it seems like this was still widely misunderstood. My mistake.”
This image is not an authentic ad by Swiggy. It is sarcasm/satire/parody. I thought I had dropped sufficient clues:
– "/s" – Snarky language – Bad graphic design – AI-generated art – Corporations taking a stand with an apparent spine
Notably, on the 19th of March, Zomato’s CEO Deepinder Goyal announced that Zomato has brought a new service ‘Pure Veg Mode’ to serve its pure veg customers.
Despite Zomato explicitly mentioning that “anyone who prefers pure veg food can avail the service and this Pure Veg Mode, or the Pure Veg Fleet doesn’t serve or alienate any religious, or political preference”, the online woke/liberal mob launched a scathing attack on Zomato and its CEO.
As Rahul Gandhi continues to use caste divisions and religious hatred as his main strategy for Lok Sabha elections, finally a senior Congress leader has objected to it. Anand Sharma, senior party leader and a member of the Congress Working Committee, has written a letter to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, objecting to the national caste census promised by Rahul Gandhi.
Anand Sharma noted that the National Caste Census has emerged as an important issue in the electoral debate and has been endorsed by INDI Alliance led by Congress. “However, the Congress policy on social justice is based on a mature and informed understanding of the complexities of Indian society,” he wrote.
Anand Sharma said that though caste is a reality of Indian society, Congress has never engaged in nor endorsed identity politics. He said, “That is detrimental to democracy in a society with a rich diversity of region, religion, caste and ethnicity.” He added that as a national party, Congress has believed in inclusive approach, which is non-discriminatory in formulating policies for equity and social justice for the poor and the under-privileged.
Sharma wrote that the caste census issue is disrespect for Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi’s legacy, saying that a departure from the historic position of the party on caste divisions is a matter of concern for Congress workers across the country. He recalled how both Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi had opposed caste-based divisions, adding the caste census issue goes against that position.
IANS Exclusive: Congress leader Anand Sharma's big attack on Rahul Gandhi, says ''the caste census issue is disrespect for Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi's legacy''. pic.twitter.com/MSE4PqNilh
He wrote, “It is pertinent to recall Smt. Indira Gandhi’s clarion call of 1980 : “Na jaat par na paat par, Mohar lagegi Haath par”. After the Mandal riots of 1990, Sh. Rajiv Gandhi, as a Leader of Opposition, in his historic speech in Lok Sabha on 6th September 1990 said : ‘We have problems if caste is defined to enshrine caste ism in our country…We have problems if casteism is going to be made a factor for parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies. The Congress cannot stand by and watch this nation being divided.”
Anand Sharma argued that implementation of caste census “will be misconstrued as disrespecting the legacy of Indira ji and Rajiv ji.”
He also stated that the last nationwide caste census was done in 1931 by the British government, and after independence, a conscious policy decision was made by the Government not to canvas caste related questions in the census, except for SCs and STs. “All Census Commissioners, after independence, have recorded their reasons and disapproval of a National Caste Census citing overlap, duplication, data lacking in accuracy and doubtful authenticity,” Sharma writes.
The Congress leader also argued that the caste census will not bring the benefits as claimed by the party. He wrote, “In my considered view, a Caste Census can not be a panacea nor a solution for unemployment and prevailing inequalities. A fundamental departure from time honoured policy on this critical and sensitive subject has major long-term national implications.”
Anand Sharma further wrote that “the Congress should strive to reclaim its role as builder of national consensus and build a harmonious society. The articulation of Party position should be balanced and eschew the radical posturing of regional and caste based organisations.”
He added that he felt duty-bound to place on record his views and share the concerns with the CWC and senior colleagues in the Party, giving the reason of writing the letter.
It is notable that Rahul Gandhi has been promising to hold a nationwide caste census in his speeches for some time. He has also promised to remove the 50% cap on reservations, if Congress-led alliance comes to power.
On Thursday (21st March), the Karnataka government faced a significant setback as Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot declined to sign the controversial Temple Tax bill, raising concerns about the taxation of only Hindu temples. Advocating for the taxation of all religious bodies Gehlot stressed that singling out one religion for taxation under the proposed bill is discriminatory.
Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot’s withdrawal of the Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions & Charitable Endowment (Amendment) Bill, 2024 came as a huge embarrassment for the Congress government in the state. The governor questioned whether other religious organisations would be included in this bill. He further asked the state government’s intention to enact similar legislation for non-Hindu religious institutions with amendments.
#BREAKING | Why not tax other religious bodies, why tax only temples?: Karnataka governor refuses to sign temple tax bill; Congress govt on the backfoot over appeasement politics
The Muzrai department (Department of Religious and Charitable Endowments) oversees approximately 35,000 Hindu religious institutions that receive funding from the Government of Karnataka.
This bill gives the government the right to collect more tax from temples. According to this bill, if the revenue of a Hindu temple is 1 crore rupees, then the government can take a 10% tax from the temple, and if the temple’s revenue is less than 1 crore but more than Rs 10 lakh, then the government can take 5% tax from the temple. Bharatiya Janata Party, in opposition in the state, had opposed this bill.
#BREAKING | Why shouldn't other places of worship be taxed?: Governor highlights unfair treatment towards Hindu community while refusing to sign the Karnataka Temple Bill
The bill additionally proposed the establishment of committees at both state and district levels tasked with “examining, evaluating, and presenting” proposals regarding infrastructure development for pilgrims.
The contentious draft called Hindu Religious Institutions & Charitable Endowment (Amendment) Bill, 2024 was passed in the Karnataka state legislative assembly on 21st February 2024. However, it faced defeat by a voice vote in the upper house on 23rd February 2024, where the BJP-led opposition held a majority. The Karnataka Temple Bill underwent reconsideration and was subsequently approved in both the Assembly and the Legislative Council on 1st March.
Opposition parties including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal (Secular), had condemned the bill, labeling it as anti-Hindu. They accused the Congress government in Karnataka of attempting to strengthen its financial position by utilising funds from temples. The opposition also argued that the Siddaramaiah administration wanted to redirect temple revenues to support other religions.
Previously, temples earning between ₹5 lakh and ₹10 lakh annually were required to contribute 5% of their net income to the Common Pool Fund, while those with incomes exceeding ₹10 lakh were mandated to allocate 10% of their net income to the fund.
Notably, if the Siddaramaiah government intends to obtain the Governor’s signature on the bill, they will have to pass the bill again in the Legislative Assembly. However, if the Governor decides to send the bill to the President, it could lead to reconsideration of the decision to tax temples by the Congress government.
