‘Using Hindus…’: Why BJP's Tejasvi Surya slammed Siddaramaiah's Karnataka Budget

Bengaluru MP expressed displeasure over the fund allocation to non-Hindu communities.

Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya of the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday slammed the Congress-led Karnataka government after it allotted ₹100 crore to the Waqf board and another ₹200 crore for the Christian community during the state budget presentation. Tejasvi Surya also alleged that the Siddaramaiah-led government is using the Hindu community as a tool to financially enrich other communities.

 BJYM National President Tejasvi Surya  (File Photo / ANI)

According to a report in The Times of India, 400 temples run by the endowment department of Karnataka earned ₹450 crore in 2021-22. The temples at Dakshina Kannada district in Karnataka alone generated ₹155 crore in revenue.

In an X post, Tejasvi wrote, “To take money from the Hindu temples and use it to fund the religious institutions of non-Hindu faiths is the standard SOP of ‘secular’ leaders like Siddaramaiah.”

He further blamed the government saying it was taking decisions at the cost of Hindus. “Secularism as practiced by them is not just a stick to brow beat the Hindu, it is also a tool to financially enrich others at the cost of the Hindu,” Tejasvi added.

Presenting the state budget in Vidhana Soudha, Siddaramaiah said, “ ₹100 crore for Waqf board, ₹200 crore for the Christian community and ₹10 crore for the construction of Haj Bhavan in Mangaluru will be allotted. Another ₹50 crore will be allotted to develop Jain pilgrimage destinations in the state.”

Bengaluru MP expressed displeasure over the fund allocation to non-Hindu communities.

Meanwhile, the Karnataka government has also allotted funds to construct Ram Temples from the state budget. “ ₹100 crore will be allotted to build Ram temples in many parts of the state,” said Siddaramaiah in his budget speech. Siddaramaiah also slammed the BJP-JDS led opposition for trying to create communal violence in the state and highlighted that Mandya flag incident in the assembly. The opposition leaders tried to interfere Siddaramaiah while presenting the budget and called the Congress government as ‘anti-Hindu’ government.