No 75-year age rule in BJP, Sanjay Raut can't decide Modi's tenure, says Chandrashekhar Bawankule

He asserted that Modi had resolved to make India a developed nation by 2047 and "this vision will be realised under his leadership.”

Mumbai: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday clarified that there is no rule in the party mandating that a person must retire after attaining the age of 75 even as Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut continues to raise the issue post the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Dr Mohan Bhagwat. 

Raut, a Rajya Sabha member and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief spokesperson, raised the issue on Monday and Tuesday.

“It is for the first time in ten years, that Modi visited the RSS headquarters in Nagpur. There must be some significance to this visit. The Prime Minister had made a rule that anyone attaining the age of 75 would not hold any government position. This rule was applied to many…Lal Krishna Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi…Modi will definitely have to follow this rule, and this was talked about at RSS headquarters…the election of BJP President was also discussed as Jagat Prakash Nadda’s term is over,” Raut said on Tuesday. 

“Modi’s successor will be from Maharashtra, and the RSS will decide on that…Modi ji visited RSS headquarters to discuss his retirement plans. To my knowledge, in the last 10-11 years, Modi has never visited the RSS headquarters. This time, he went to inform Bhagwat that he is saying 'tata-bye-bye',” Raut said on Monday. 

However, following the back-to-back statements by Raut, the BJP sought to come out with a clarification. 

"There is no rule in the party mandating that a person must retire at 75, and it is the people of the country who would decide on Modi's tenure as the Prime Minister…neither there is any rule in the BJP that Modi should retire from politics after 75, nor has there been any such policy of the BJP,” Maharashtra BJP President and state Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule said in a statement.

"Former BJP leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee served as Prime Minister till the age of 79, while Morarji Desai was 83 and Dr Manmohan Singh, who was 81 also held the position beyond the age of 75. However, Raut, blinded by his animosity towards the BJP, seems to have forgotten this," he said.

"The people of this country decide Modi ji's tenure as Prime Minister, not Sanjay Raut or the opposition… Modi had resolved to make India a developed nation by 2047 and "this vision will be realised under his leadership,” said Bawankule.

The statement of Bawankule comes a day after Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis asserted that there is no such move.

“There is no need to search for his successor. He (Modi) is our leader and will continue. Discussing succession while the leader is active is inappropriate in Indian culture. 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…Modi is our leader, and he will continue to work in the future. That is our desire...Everyone wants to see Modi ji as Prime Minister even in 2029. We are not worthy of discussing such matters,” he had said.

However, to Fadnavis’ statement, Raut posted on X: “Lord Ram and Lord Krishna, the two significant figures in Hindu mythology, appeared in the world and then departed after fulfilling their roles.”