New Delhi:
Will Prime Minister Narendra Modi stand down, retire, in September?
No, not a chance, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said Monday. “There is no need to search for his successor. He is our leader and will continue,” he declared in Nagpur.
Mr Fadnavis was snapping back at claims by Shiv Sena strongman Sanjay Raut that the Prime Minister – who will turn 75 on September 17 – will resign this year in accordance with the ruling party’s unspoken rule – that party leaders older than that cannot hold ministerial berths.
The party has said no such rule exists and there is at least one member of the union cabinet who is over that ‘age limit’ – 80-year-old Bihar leader Jitan Ram Manjhi, who is the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Minister. Others, including Mr Modi are within a year or two.
Nevertheless, the buzz about Mr Modi’s ‘future’ – flagged by the AAP’s Arvind Kejriwal during last year’s election, when he claimed Home Minister Amit Shah was being groomed to take over – broke after the PM’s visit to Nagpur and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh head office.
#WATCH | On Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s ‘Amit Shah will be the PM, if BJP wins’ remark, Union Home Minister Amit Shah says “I want to say this to Arvind Kejriwal and company and INDI alliance that nothing as such is mentioned in BJP’s constitution. PM Modi is only going to… https://t.co/eJgCHox2Q7 pic.twitter.com/bKJQ4OtMhe
— ANI (@ANI) May 11, 2024
The RSS is widely seen as the ruling party’s ideological mentor.
Mr Modi’s visit Sunday was his first since becoming Prime Minister 11 years ago.
READ | PM Modi Visits RSS HQ For 1st Time Since Becoming Prime Minister
The visit has been picked up, and played up, by the opposition Shiv Sena (the faction led by ex-Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray) in Maharashtra, with Sanjay Raut declaring the RSS had summoned the Prime Minister to discuss the question of his successor.
“He (Mr Modi) probably went to the RSS headquarters to write his retirement application in September,” Mr Raut declared, claiming also his successor would be from Maharashtra.
“Modi’s successor will be from Maharashtra… and the RSS will decide on that.”
“From what I understand the ‘sangh parivar‘ wants a change in the country’s leadership. PM Modi’s time is over. They want a change and want to choose the next BJP chief,” he declared.
The response was swift and assertive.
Mr Fadnavis said, “In 2029 we will see Modi as Prime Minister again.” He also took a sharp swipe at talk of Mr Modi – whom he called “our father” – being phased out.
“In our culture, when the father is alive, it is inappropriate to talk about succession. The time has not come to discuss it,” he said, throwing in a sneer about it being “Mughal culture”.
The “Mughal culture” jab was a reference to another row – over the grave of 18th century of Aurangzeb, whose unmarked tomb in the state is at the heart of a major controversy.
With input from agencies
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