Speculation Prime Minister Narendra Modi will 'retire' after his 75th birthday in September - i.e., he will stand down in accordance with an unspoken 'rule' within the BJP and its ideological mentor, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh - has been dismissed by RSS boss Mohan Bhagwat.
Mr Bhagwat, who will turn 75 six days before the Prime Minister, told reporters Thursday evening, "I never said I will retire or that someone else should retire when they turn 75..."
"We will do what the Sangh tells us," he said, as the RSS celebrates its 100th anniversary.
"In the Sangh, we are swayamsevaks... we are given a job, whether we want it or not," he said, declaring also that he would continue to run the RSS "even if I am 80 years old".
"We do whatever we are told to do," he explained.
WIll PM Retire At 75? No, Says BJP
The BJP has repeatedly said there is no rule requiring Mr Modi to resign after turning 75.
The party has pointed to the federal government, in which there is already one member - 80-year-old Bihar leader Jitan Ram Manjhi, the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Minister - over that 'limit'. Others, including the Prime Minister are within a year or two of that mark.
The party has also repeatedly said - Home Minister Amit Shah led that charge in May last year, before a federal election the opposition jibed Mr Modi could not contest (because of the 75-year rule) - that the Prime Minister will not retire from politics post-September 17, his birthday.
Over the past few years the opposition has routinely picked up on this 'rule', fuelled by comments from Mr Shah before the 2019 election, that the party opted against fielding candidates older than 75.
PM Modi turns 75 on September 17 (File).
Mr Shah said then that was an electoral decision and stressed, "There is no provision regarding age, anywhere in the Constitution of the BJP."
Opposition's 75-Year-Old Jab
Undeterred, the opposition pointed to BJP veterans like LK Advani and Murali Manohar Joshi, who were 92 and 90 years old in 2019 when they were eased out of the party. That same year other BJP leaders, including Bhagat Singh Koshyari, 76, and BC Khanduri, 85, were dropped.
Aam Aadmi Party boss Arvind Kejriwal also weighed in; "He (Mr Modi) will retire next year. He is seeking votes to making Amit Shah the Prime Minister," he said campaigning for the election.
READ | On Kejriwal's "Amit Shah To Be PM" Claim, A Reply By Home Minister
Then too Mr Shah had said the BJP does not require leaders over 75 to retire.
Opposition jibes over Mr Modi's 'resignation' resurfaced in March after he visited Nagpur - the head office of the RSS - for the first time in 11 years, or since he became Prime Minister.
READ | PM Modi Visits RSS HQ For 1st Time Since Becoming Prime Minister
The visit was picked, and played up, by Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, who declared the RSS had summoned the Prime Minister to discuss the question of his successor.
"He (Mr Modi) probably went to the RSS headquarters to write his retirement application in September," Mr Raut declared, claiming also his successor would be from Maharashtra.
"Modi's successor will be from Maharashtra... and the RSS will decide on that."
READ | "Our Father...": D Fadnavis Snaps At PM Modi 'Retirement' Talk
The response, again, was swift. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said, "In 2029 we will see Modi as Prime Minister again" and hit out at talk of "our father" being phased out.
Wouldn't Have Taken Us So Long: RSS Jabs BJP
Meanwhile, the RSS did take a jab at the BJP over its protracted hunt for a new national boss, a search many feel is being overseen by the RSS. But Mr Bhagwat said this is not the case, and indicated if that were, in fact, the case, "It wouldn't have taken this (much) time to decide".
READ | 'Wouldn't Take Us So Long': RSS Chief Jabs BJP Over Party Boss Polls
"Take your time. We don't have to say anything. They have to decide," he said, in remarks seen as a sharp reminder to the what is widely seen as the RSS' political wing to announce a name, fast.
Last week sources told NDTV the BJP is likely to get a new chief before the Bihar election.
READ | In BJP's Hunt For New Party Boss, 100 Leaders Consulted
Sources also said the selection process had been delayed for many reasons, including extensive consultations with senior leaders from the BJP and RSS.
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