Raut points to RSS rule and Modi’s past forced retirements of leaders over 75.
Mumbai: Senior Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut has once again sparked a debate over the retirement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is giving a message to the PM to retire at the age of 75.
“The rule of retirement after the age of 75 has been made by Modi and the RSS itself. I think the RSS is repeatedly advising Modi that you have to retire now and hand over the country to safe hands,” said Raut on Thursday.
“PM Modi forced retirement on veteran leaders like Lal Krishna Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Jaswant Singh, etc as they crossed the age of 75 years. Now let’s see if Modi follows it for himself,” said the Sena (UBT) leader.
The Rajya Sabha MP’s remarks came on the backdrop of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s statement indicating one should retire at 75. Bhagwat was speaking in Nagpur at the launch ceremony of an English book on the life of the senior RSS leader, late Moropant Pingle.
Remembering Pingle on this occasion, the RSS chief said when Moropant was honoured on his 75th birthday, he had said that I understand the meaning of 75. When a person turns seventy-five, he should step aside and give others a chance.
“This was his lesson. Moropant Pingle taught the RSS to work without any propaganda and to retire after seventy-five years,” Bhagwat said.
Incidentally, both PM Modi and RSS chief Bhagwat are going to turn 75 in September this year.
This is not the first time Raut had talked about Modi’s retirement at the age of 75. In April this year, the Sena (UBT) leader had claimed that Modi would step down as PM in September and his successor would be from Maharashtra.
Raut had said that RSS had summoned the Prime Minister to discuss the issue of his successor. In April, the PM had visited Nagpur, where he paid floral tribute to the Sangh founder Keshav Baliram Hedgewar at Smruti Mandir in Reshimbagh. It was his first since becoming Prime Minister 11 years ago.
However, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had rejected speculation saying Modi would continue leading the country beyond 2029. “There is no need to search for his successor. He (Modi) is our leader and will continue. In our culture, when the father is alive, it is inappropriate to talk about succession. That is Mughal culture. The time has not come to discuss it,” Fadnavis had said.
