Yediyurappa Declines Cabinet-Rank Status Granted to Him by K'taka CM Bommai

In a letter to Bommai, Yediyurappa stated he was content to receive legitimate benefits, accorded to a former CM.

Newly elected Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai with former CM BS Yediyurappa during oath-taking ceremony at Raj Bhavan in Bengaluru, on 28 July.

(Photo: PTI/Shailendra Bhojak)

Former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Sunday, 8 August, declined the privileges of a Cabinet rank and urged Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai to withdraw an order issued to the effect.

In a nine-line letter written in Kannada to Bommai, Yediyurappa stated that he was content to receive legitimate benefits that are accorded to a former chief minister.

"I humbly request our new chief minister to withdraw this order," he told reporters on Sunday.

On Saturday, 7 August, the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (DPAR) had issued a circular granting Cabinet-rank status to former Chief Minister Yediyurappa, which would enable him to receive government facilities on par with a Cabinet-rank minister.

The order had also stated that he would be able to receive these benefits until the incumbent chief minister is in office.

Accordingly, Cabinet-rank status would allow Yediyurappa to claim benefits of a Cabinet rank minister such as salary, government vehicle, and official accommodation.

After his party asked him to resign as the chief minister on 26 July, after completing two years in office, the Karnataka BJP leader, who is about 78 years old, does not hold any official position other than being an MLA from the Shikaripura constituency.

Even though there is no rule in the BJP's handbook that bars people above the age of 75 from contesting polls or holding any position, it has become an unwritten party convention that 75 years is the age of retirement.

This unofficial rule came into play in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The BJP had denied tickets to several leaders as they had crossed the 75-year mark, prime among them being senior BJP leader LK Advani and Sumitra Mahajan, the Lok Sabha speaker at the time.

Following the same, former Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel resigned from her post once she turned 75. Union Ministers Najma Heptulla and Davangere Lok Sabha member GM Siddeshwara also resigned once they turned 75.

The only exceptions were made in the case of Yediyurappa in Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh's Kalraj Mishra in 2019. In July 2019, Yediyurappa was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Karnataka.

In 2021, the BJP again made an exception in the case of 'Metroman' E Sreedharan who was pitted by the BJP against the Left party veteran and state CM Pinarayi Vijayan.

(Published in arrangement with The News Minute)