A video is being shared on social media claiming that some priests in Karnataka have started removing donation boxes (Hundis in sanskrit) from the temple. It is also claimed that they questioned the government officials that when donations are not used for Hindu devotees, what is the need for the donation box. The post also reads that the officials went there to collect the donation money and that the priests have asked them to bring the donations from Churches and Mosques first. Lets fact-check the claim.
Claim: The video shows the priests removing donation boxes and telling the officials first to bring the donations of the churches and mosques.
Fact: The video was taken in 2015 in the Kolaramma temple in Kolar, Karnataka when the High Court ruled that a donation box could be placed in the temple. However, the head priest of the temple said that they do not get salaries from the government and are dependent on the money devotees offer in the aarti plate. He questioned how they would survive if a donation box is installed in the temple. As the social media post claims, there is no mention of churches and mosques in the video. Hence the post is MISLEADING.
After searching about the video with relevant keywords on the Internet, we found that a person named ‘Suresh’ tweeted that the video was taken in 2015. The same video posted in 2015 can be seen here. In the same twitter thread, Mr Suresh also tweeted a ‘Praja Vani’ article related to the incident in the video.
In 2015, the High Court ruled that Hundi could be placed in the Kolaramma temple in Kolar, Karnataka. However, it can be read in the ‘Praja Vani’ article that the head priest said that the government does not pay them salaries and they are dependent on the money devotees offer in the aarti plate. He questioned the officials on how they could survive if a donation box is placed in the temple.
A few other pictures of the same temple from the 2015 incident are also available on Facebook. The donation box in the video can be seen in those photos.
The order from 2015, given by the High Court that Hundi (Donation box) can be read here.
To sum it up, the priests in this video have not asked the government officials to bring or collect the donations money from Churches and Mosques.
