Bengaluru: Before the recent cabinet expansion, Karnataka’s Muzrai dept (which handles temples and charitable endowments) was hardly a prize portfolio. Overshadowed by power ministries like finance, home, revenue, and energy, it rarely figured in cabinet negotiations or political chatter. Ministers seldom lobbied for it and there was never a public campaign by priests seeking a particular minister to head the department. But that has changed dramatically.In an unprecedented development, the otherwise low-profile portfolio has become the focus of a statewide campaign. More than 50,000 priests from nearly 35,000 Muzrai temples have united behind a single demand: restore the Muzrai portfolio to senior Congress leader and water resources minister Ramalinga Reddy. The unusual show of support has turned one of Karnataka’s most understated ministries into an unexpected political flashpoint.Their campaign reached a crescendo on Wednesday at the state-level convention of the Karnataka State Association of Archakas, Agamikas and Employees of Muzrai Temples, where priests raised the issue directly with Chief Minister DK Shivakumar. Rather than seeking grants or making fresh demands, the gathering of thousands of priests repeatedly urged the Chief Minister to entrust the department to Reddy, crediting his previous tenure with bringing unprecedented reforms to temple administration and improving the lives of thousands of priests and their families.
State-level convention of the Karnataka State Association of Archakas, Agamikas and Employees of Muzrai Temples attended by CM DK Shivakumar and Minister Ramalinga Reddy
Their appeal drew an unexpected political response from the CM himself. Responding to their demands during the convention, Shivakumar publicly expressed his willingness to hand over the portfolio to Reddy. “You have appealed that Ramalinga Reddy be given charge of the Muzrai Department. I had wanted to give him the Bengaluru portfolio, but the party had already taken a decision. But if you are insisting on this department, I am ready to give it to him. Reddy and all of you should sit together and discuss it. I will also discuss your demand with him,” the CM assured the priest community.The Chief Minister’s remarks have added a fresh layer to the ongoing suspense over portfolio allocation, barely two days after the cabinet expansion, with several newly inducted ministers lobbying for influential departments amid brewing discontent over the expansion. For the priests, however, the issue is less about political equations and more about ensuring the continuity of what they describe as meaningful reforms.
List of Reforms initiated by Ramalinga Reddy as Muzrai Dept minister in Karnataka
Agama Vidwan Srivatsa, president of the priests’ association, said Ramalinga Reddy transformed the Muzrai Department from an office primarily focused on managing temple properties and administration into one that prioritised priest welfare, temple restoration and the protection of religious institutions, while also streamlining administration through technology.“Unlike previous ministers, Reddy understood our plight very well. Several of our genuine demands that had been gathering dust in the department for years were addressed during his tenure. He streamlined the administration and management of several A-category temples by providing them with a legislative framework and setting up dedicated authorities. In fact, a whopping grant of ₹1,461 crore was allocated to the department, paving the way for the renovation of several temples, upgrading their ageing infrastructure and enabling them to cater to the increasing footfall of devotees,” he said.The association also recalled that Reddy was instrumental in securing thousands of acres of land belonging to nearly 350 temples and ensuring that the properties were registered in the names of the respective deities. “Since its inception, the department had no building of its own despite generating crores of rupees in revenue. It was Reddy who recognised this gap and laid the foundation stone for Dharmika Soudha near the Vidhana Soudha, thereby giving the department a permanent home of its own,” Srivatsa added.
