New Delhi: During a campaign rally Saturday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is currently on interim bail until 1 June, questioned the BJP about who would succeed Narendra Modi as India’s Prime Minister once he reaches the retirement age of 75 next year.
“These people ask the INDIA bloc about their PM face. I ask the BJP who will be their PM? Modi ji is turning 75 on 17 September next year. He had made the rule that people aged 75 will be retired. L.K. Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Sumitra Mahajan, and Yashwant Sinha were retired at 75. That way, Modi should retire next year on 17 September, then who will be your next PM?” he said.
The BJP’s senior leadership was quick to react to Kejriwal’s comment. Speaking at a press conference in Hyderabad, Telangana, Union Home Minister Amit Shah stated firmly that PM Narendra Modi will serve his third term as PM.
“I want to tell Arvind Kejriwal and the INDIA alliance that there is no need to be happy about Modiji turning 75. It is not written in the Constitution of the BJP that Modiji cannot become prime minister. He will again become prime minister and complete the term,” he said.
Taking a dig at Kejriwal, Shah said that the Delhi CM should consider this bail as a “clean chit”. “The interim bail has only been given till 1 June, and on 2 June, he has to surrender himself in front of the agencies. If Arvind Kejriwal considers this a clean chit, then his understanding of the law is weak,” he added.
Meanwhile, BJP President JP Nadda took to Twitter to respond to Kejriwal’s remarks. He dismissed his remarks pointing out, like Shah, that there was no provision regarding age anywhere in the party’s constitution.
“Kejriwal and the entire INDIA alliance have panicked after realising their failure in the elections. Their aim is to mislead and confuse the country. ModiJi is getting immense blessings from people from East to West, North to South. They have neither any policy nor any programme in front of the Prime Minister. Now they are looking for a way out by making an excuse of Modi Ji’s age,” he wrote.
“The public knows that every bit and every moment of Modiji is dedicated to the service of Mother India. The vision of ‘Developed India’ is becoming a reality under the leadership of Modiji, and in his next 5 years of tenure, Modiji will take the country to new heights. The opposition should not be happy; it should not have any illusions. Modiji is our leader and will continue to lead us in the future too,” the X post added.
This was the first time that Kejriwal was addressing a public rally since his release, during which he also alleged that this time the PM is not asking for votes for himself but for Amit Shah. “When you go out to vote, remember, you are voting for Amit Shah, not for Modi,” he said.
Delhi is set to go to polls for its seven Lok Sabha seats on 25 May.
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)
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