After temple Bill setback, Siddaramaiah govt mulls second Assembly passage or deferral post LS polls

The Congress government in Karnataka is considering passage of its temple funds amendment Bill in the state Assembly for a second time after the Bill was defeated in the Legislative Council by the Opposition BJP-JDS combine Friday.

The Bill is also being considered for tabling at a later stage when the Congress has a majority in the Council, party leaders said.

Under the rules, as soon as possible, after a Bill which has once been passed by the House is received from the Council, with a message that it has not agreed to the Bill the House may pass the Bill again and transmit it as passed to the Council.

The Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments (Amendment) Bill, 2024 was intended to increase the common fund pool for managing the 34,563 temples under the state government’s Muzrai (Religious and Charitable Endowments) Department. It was defeated 15:8, after it was put to vote by Legislative Council Deputy Chairman M K Pranesh, even after the Siddaramaiah government agreed to make changes to it to meet some demands from the Opposition.

Days earlier, the Opposition had also blocked the Karnaṭaka Souharda Cooperative (Amendment) Bill, 2024, aimed at cooperative sector reforms, in the Legislative Council. But the Bill was referred to a House Committee for review, after 30 MLCs voted in favour of its referral to a Select Committee, while 21 opposed it.

The BJP has 34 MLCs in the 75-member Upper House, while the JDS has eight and the Congress 30. One seat is vacant while the two remaining seats involve an Independent and the Chairman.

In the 224-member Assembly, the Congress has a majority with 134 MLAs as against the BJP’s 66 and the JD(S)’s 19.

“If a Bill is rejected by the Council, the possibility of the