Facing stiff opposition from heads of religious maths and the Opposition, Chief Minister Siddaramiah on Wednesday made it clear that the government “will withdraw” the controversial Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments (Amendment) Bill on regulating religious maths. The Chief Minister’s statement comes a day after several of his Cabinet Ministers expressed their “opposition” to the Bill at the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, according to sources. Speaking to presspersons here, Mr. Siddaramaiah said “he has spoken” to Law Minister T.B. Jayachandra on the issue and added “now we are planning not to pursue the Bill. We will take it back.”
The Chief Minister pointed out that the JD(S)-BJP coalition government in 2007 had given an undertaking to the Supreme Court stating they would bring an amendment to the law, following which the Bill was introduced.
Meanwhile, senior BJP leaders Jagadish Shettar, R. Ashok and V. Somanna on Wednesday called on seers of several prominent maths, including the seer of Sri Siddaganga Math in Tumkur, to explain the party’s opposition to the proposed Bill.
