Bengaluru, Feb 24 (Reporter) Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday accused the BJP of spreading misinformation on the Hindu temple tax bill. He also blamed the opposition, especially the BJP, for defeating the bill in the upper house by voice vote. It was passed in the assembly earlier this week where it enjoys majority. Siddaramaiah said the bill intends to take a part of the money from rich temples and give it to the temples earning less. It neither will be given to other religious centres, the CM added. The BJP alleged that the tax collected from the temples would be used fill the empty coffers of the state and impart it to other religious centres to further its minority appeasement politics ahead of general elections. Responding to the BJP's allegations that the Congress government is planning to loot temple money, Siddaramaiah said it was the BJP that was looting, and hence the people spurned them in the last assembly election. The bill proposes to collect five percent from temples whose revenue is between Rs 10 lakh and less than Rs 1 crore, and 10 percent from temples whose revenue is above Rs 1 crore to be put into a Common Pool Fund, administered by Rajya Dharmika Parishath. The controversy, however, lies in two sections of the bill - Section 19(a) and Section 25. Section 19(a) of the bill states that the funds collected under the "Common Pool Fund" can be used for the benefit of the Poor and Needy Organisations. But it does not clearly define the needy organisations and thus opens the doors for their misuse. Section 25 of the bill allows the appointment of non-Hindu members in the management committees which amounts to a violation of the autonomy and the customary management practices of Hindu temples. As a result, the bill is being termed as anti-Hindu for it seems to be tailor-made to siphon of temple funds and their misuse...////...