A delegation of Visva Hindu Parishad’s (VHP) Karnataka South and North provinces has met the Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot to submit a memorandum requesting that the temples and Hindu religious centres in the state be freed from government control.
The VHP also proposed to consider its ‘Karnataka temple scheme’.
The memorandum submitted in this regard through the VHP’s Karnataka Dakshin also said that to consider the suggestion for a new system to handle the precarious situation arising from the Karnataka High Court’s declaration that The Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Act, 1997, and its amendments are “unconstitutional”.
The VHP claimed, “There is only one way for all types of temples to be equal before the law to free all types of Hindu temples from government control. After freeing them from government control, a new, constitutionally valid, and universally acceptable system for temple administration is necessary. The Karnataka Temple Scheme is a universally acceptable system that forms committees for temple administration on a democratic basis through direct and indirect elections.”
“The Karnataka Temple scheme has been prepared by considering the several objections raised by the court and resolving them in line with judgments delivered by the Supreme Court on various occasions in the past. We request that the appropriate laws and regulations be brought in and implement this scheme in the state. We will provide all necessary cooperation in this regard,” the right-wing organisation said.
“The High Court has declared that The Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Act, 1997, and its amendments, which is applicable to the temples under government control in Karnataka, are unconstitutional. Since the Supreme Court has stated that the “Act is alive”, the administration of temples is currently being managed under the same Act till now,” the VHP added.
“The case is pending for final disposal in the Supreme Court. However, this precarious situation cannot continue for a long time. Therefore, a new, constitutionally valid system for the administration of Hindu temples in Karnataka is required. To facilitate this, a constitutionally sound “Karnataka Temple Scheme” is proposed by the VHP. This has been created within a direct and indirect democratic framework,” the right-wing group claimed.
“There is a possibility that the Supreme Court may also take the similar stance as the High Court. If the Supreme Court takes a similar view and delivers a judgment, the administration of temples could fall into a state of limbo. Therefore, before such a situation arises, the proposed Karnataka Temple Scheme should be implemented through appropriate approval in the existing case before the Supreme Court,” the VHP demanded.
“By doing so, the demand of the majority of the Hindu society that is, “Hindu administration for Hindu temples” will be fulfilled,” the right-wing group underlined.
The VHP claimed that the scheme is Constitutional as it is applicable to the religious and charitable institutions of the entire Hindu society in accordance with Article 14 of the Constitution.
It is in accordance with Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution, it said.
“The administration of these various groups of temples are not equal before the law. To rectify this, the Courts are suggesting that the same law must be applied to all groups. That means either all temples should be brought under government control, or all temples should be freed from government control,” the VHP demanded.
“There is no provision in the Constitution to bring a law for the government to control the administration of the first three types of temples (private, mutts, denominations). It is undisputed fact that the Constitution does not allow the government to control administration of private temples and trusts,” the right-wing group said.
“It has been ruled in the landmark Supreme Court case i.e., The Commissioner, Hindu Religious Endowments vs Sri Lakshmindra Thirtha Swamlar (the Shirur Mutt case) that the government cannot control mutts and religious denomination institutions,” the VHP noted.
