The Karnataka legislature on Tuesday passed the Karnataka Religious Structures (Protection) Bill, which aims to protect religious structures from demolition.

The bill, which was tabled on Monday and will now be presented to the upper house of the state legislature, offers protection to all religious structures that arose on public lands before the law came into force. . This means that the authorities will not be able to demolish religious structures on public land unless there is a specific court order for the demolition of a religious structure, as the reading of the bill shows.

The government of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led by Basavaraj Bommai introduced the bill on Monday after it was attacked within the party as well as the opposition Congress and various pro-Hindu organizations following the demolition of ‘a temple in Nanjangud in Mysuru a few days ago.

JC Madhuswamy, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs of Karnataka, said that structures of all religions would fall under the scope of this new bill. “There was a loophole and to fill it we brought this (bill) forward,” Madhuswamy said, reacting to allegations of the government’s inability to stop the demolition of a temple in Nanjangud, district of Nanjangud. Mysuru, September 12.

The bill comes days after a video of a Nanjangud temple being demolished by an earthmoving machine went viral on social media, with Mysuru-Kodagu MP Prathap Simha raising the issue with the public. target authorities who carried out the campaign without any consultation.

During the discussion, opposition leader Siddaramaiah asked how the temple had been demolished without the knowledge of the government and inquired as to why no action would be taken against district officials for committing the act.

“You say that from now on no temple should be demolished but what about those (demolished) earlier? You are presenting this bill because the Hindu Jagrana Vedike and the Hindu Mahasabha pressured you and the government was afraid, ”he said.

Chief Minister Bommai said the government had played no role in the demolition of the Nanjangud temple. “Let there be no confusion. We (the government) did not order the demolition, ”Bommai said.

The Assembly adopts the bill against online gambling

The Karnataka legislature also passed the Karnataka Police (Amendment) Bill 2021 on Tuesday intended to restrict gambling via the internet or mobile apps. Karnataka’s Interior Minister Araga Jnanendra introduced the bill to the assembly on Friday during the current monsoon session of the state legislature. The bill also strengthens the punishment for gambling for the orderly conduct of citizens and to wean them from the vice of gambling.