“Our Father…”: D Fadnavis Snaps At Sanjay Raut For PM Modi ‘Retirement’ Talk

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.