Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis hit back at Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut’s remarks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s retirement, saying there was no need of such discussion.
Modi would continue to lead the country for many more years, Fadnavis said.
Raut, who has been a staunch critic of the BJP and Modi ever since the saffron party broke alliance with the Shiv Sena, claimed that Modi went to the RSS headquarters in Nagpur on Sunday to convey the message that he is retiring.
"There is no need to search for his successor. He (Modi) is our leader and will continue," Fadnavis said, adding that discussing succession while the leader is active is inappropriate in Indian culture.
#WATCH | Nagpur: On PM Modi's visit to RSS' Smruti Mandir, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis says, "Modi ji is a 'swayamsevak', he has been a 'pracharak'. Even today, his life is like that of a 'pracharak'. That is why when he came to the program, we got to see his experience, his… pic.twitter.com/b283tqRWbh
— ANI (@ANI) March 30, 2025
"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," said the chief minister.
Fadavis also dismissed Raut's claims that the RSS wants a change in the country's political leadership and that Modi's successor would be from Maharashtra.
"He (Modi) probably went to RSS headquarters to write his retirement application in September," Raut said in an apparent reference to the BJP's informal rule that the leaders attaining 75 years of age would retire and no responsibility would be placed on them.
Modi turns 75 in September.
Earlier, Aam Aadmi Party supremo Arvind Kejriwal, too, had flagged this rule and questioned whether Modi would retire this year. However, Union Home Minister Amit Shah outrightly rejected the buzz and said Modi would complete his tenure as the prime minister.
"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 complete this tenure and PM Modi will continue to lead the country in future. There is no confusion in BJP,” Shah had said.
