PM Modi to retire? Sanjay Raut claims RSS wants change, BJP hits back

Sanjay Raut sparks controversy by claiming that PM Modi plans to retire, but BJP dismisses the speculation, stating that PM Modi will continue leading beyond 2029

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut has stirred a political storm by claiming that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is planning to retire in September 2024. Raut linked PM Modi’s recent visit to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) headquarters in Nagpur to this alleged retirement plan, stating that the Prime Minister had not visited the RSS office in the last 10-11 years but did so now to "bid farewell," reported India Today.

 

Speaking to reporters in Mumbai, Raut said, "September mein retirement ka application likhne ke liye shayad woh RSS mukhyalay gaye [Maybe he went to the RSS headquarters to submit his retirement application]."

 

 

He further alleged that the RSS wanted a leadership change in the country and is looking for a successor within the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).  

 

"From what I understand, the entire Sangh Parivar wants a change in the country's leadership. PM Modi's time is over, and they want to choose the next BJP chief," Raut added.  

 

BJP hits back

 

Senior BJP leader and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis countered the remarks, stating that PM Modi will continue to lead India beyond 2029.

 

"In 2029, we will see Modi as the Prime Minister again. There is no need to search for his successor. He [PM 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 said.  

 

PM Modi’s visit to RSS headquarters  

 

Raut’s remarks came a day after PM Modi’s visit to the RSS headquarters in Nagpur, making him the second sitting Prime Minister to visit the organisation's central office. The first visit was by Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2000 during his third term as prime minister.

 

During his visit, PM Modi paid tribute to RSS founder Keshav Baliram Hedgewar and described the organisation as a "banyan tree" symbolising India's cultural and ideological heritage.  

 

"The seed of ideology that was sown 100 years ago has grown into a massive tree. The principles and values of the RSS have elevated it to great heights, with lakhs of kar sevaks as its branches," PM Modi said.  

 

PM Modi also visited the Dr Hedgewar Smruti Mandir in Reshimbag, where he paid homage to Hedgewar and Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar, the second RSS chief.