Karnataka CM promises Ram mandir, big allocations for temples

In his budget speech, chief minister Basavaraj Bommai also promised comprehensive development and renovation of temples and mutts and earmarked nearly ₹2,000 crores for these projects.

Ahead of the state assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Karnataka government announced in the Budget on Friday the construction of a Ram temple in Ramanagara district, which is a stronghold of the Janata Dal (Secular) and the Congress.

Karnataka government announced in the Budget on Friday the construction of a Ram temple in Ramanagara district (ANI)

In his budget speech, chief minister Basavaraj Bommai also promised comprehensive development and renovation of temples and mutts and earmarked nearly ₹2,000 crores for these projects.

The announcement of temple constructions comes after the BJP in December last year wrote to Bommai to constitute a development committee to build a temple at Ramadevara Betta on the lines of Sri Ram temple in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh.

In a letter to Bommai, senior BJP leaders demanded “Ramadevara Betta should be developed as the Ayodhya of South India”.

The Ram temple should be built using 19 acres of space that belongs to the department of Muzrai at Ramadevara Betta, they added in the letter.

In the Budget speech, Bommai announced ₹425 crore allocation for the temple as he presented a revenue surplus Budget with no proposed taxes months before Karnataka is due to go to the polls this year.

“In the next two years, comprehensive development and renovation of temples and mutts [monasteries] will be undertaken...with an expenditure of ₹1,000 crore,” Bommai further added in the speech.

Bommai said the annuity payable for leased lands of the Hindu religious and charitable endowments department will be enhanced from ₹48,000 to ₹60,000.

An additional grant of ₹375 crore has been sanctioned for 1,115 institutions of the mutts belonging to the backward classes. The budget allocated ₹100 crore for the development of Anjanagiri Hill in Koppal known as the birthplace of the Hindu deity Hanuman. Similarly, The tomb of Shahaji Maharaj will be developed for ₹5 crore, said the chief minister.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which came to power in Karnataka after the Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) government fell following the resignation of 15 legislators in 2020, hopes to return to power in the state.

Responding to the question on the allocations to temples and religious institutions, Bommai said that allocating funds to Mutts and temples is a practice followed by the governments and not new.

“All these mutts are doing educational, philanthropy things, and it will help the government also,” he said.

Meanwhile, Karnataka Congress president DK Shivakumar criticised the BJP, saying while his party is talking about the livelihoods of the people, the BJP is playing with their emotions.

“This is a voiceless Budget. It’s the worst budget so far. I have built 400-odd temples. What they’ll build Ram Mandir. We want to talk about our stomachs. They talk about emotions. The temple already exists. A beautiful temple is already there (Ramanagara).”

“They want to build Rama Mandira in Ramanagara... they are thinking about this when elections are around the corner and announced it in the budget...I congratulate them. But the responsibility to construct it will probably fall on me only. They (BJP) have announced it but they cannot construct it tomorrow morning. Only when the next government comes will the work start and the BJP will not return to power. The next government will be under my leadership itself and I will fulfil their wish to construct the Rama Mandira in Ramanagara,” HD Kumaraswamy, the JD(S) leader and former chief minister, said.