NEW DELHI — When Mohan Bhagwat, a longtime prominent Hindu nationalist leader, recently spoke about retiring at 75, he may have had someone else on his mind.
Indian political observers have noted that the words were actually meant for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who, along with Bhagwat, turns 75 this September.
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Bhagwat, of the right-wing Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) paramilitary organization, was speaking at a book release dedicated to late RSS ideologue Moropant Pingle in Nagpur on Wednesday.
“When you turn 75, it means you should stop now and make way for others,” he declared.
Recalling a former RSS leader Moropant Pingle: “He once said that if you are honored with a shawl after turning 75, it means that you should stop now, you are old, step aside and let others come in.”
Bhagwat will turn 75 this coming September 11, just six days ahead of Modi. The two have been considered allies. Various members of India’s political opposition had already been saying it’s time for the prime minister to step down after 14 years at the helm.
Rules of retirement
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said on Thursday that that the RSS leader is sending a message to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to retire at the age of 75 years.
“The rule of retirement after the age of 75 has been made by Modi and the RSS itself. I think the RSS is repeatedly advising Modi that you have to retire now and hand over the country to safe hands,” said Raut on Thursday, reported Deccan Chronicle.
“Modi forced retirement on veteran leaders as they crossed the age of 75 years. Now let’s see if Modi follows it for himself,” said Raut.
Bhagwat’s statement that one should step aside after attaining the age of 75 drew sharp comments from other leaders in the Opposition who asked what Modi should do. The RSS chief’s remarks are seen by the Opposition as a veiled message to PM Modi.
Congress general secretary in charge of Communication, Jairam Ramesh, said, “Poor award-seeking Prime Minister! What a homecoming this is – on returning, he was reminded by the Sarsanghchalak that he will turn 75 in September,” he quipped. “One arrow, two targets!”
Congress party leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi said, “Preaching without practicing is always dangerous. It is unprincipled that (others) were given compulsory retirement applying the 75-year age limit, but indications are clear that the current dispensation will be exempted from this rule.”
Broader context
Tensions have marked ties between the RSS and the Modi government, at least dating as the interview in the run-up to the 2024 general elections where members of Modi’s BJP party said they did not really need the RSS to govern in coalition. “We have grown, more capable now…the BJP runs itself”.
India has the largest youth population in the world
Strained ties over who the next chief of the party would be, alongwith BJP state party units undergoing a lot of infighting have forced Nadda to continue as party head for more than a year and a half after his term has ended.
In April this year, after Modi made his first visit to the RSS headquarters since becoming the Prime Minister 11 years ago, Raut had said that Modi would step down as prime minister in September and his successor would be from the Indian state of Maharashtra. He had said that the RSS had summoned the Prime Minister to discuss the issue of his successor.
The last Census in India was held in 2011, but a press release by the Modi government in February this year referred to India being a nation of young persons. “India has the largest youth population in the world, with about 65% of its people under the age of 35,” it read.
The BJP has been repeatedly trying to say that there are no retirement plans for Modi. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, seen as Modi’s closest associate in the cabinet, had said in May 2023: “Modi will continue to lead until 2029. There’s no truth in retirement rumors.”
Incidentally, on the same day that Bhagwat made his remarks, Shah, who turned 60 in April, said spiritual enlightenment and natural farming were on his post-retirement list. Modi has given no indication of what he will do if and when he goes off into the sunset.
