Lucknow: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal claimed on Thursday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is going to retire once he attains 75 years of age in 2025, in accordance with the BJP's rules. He is seeking votes for Union Home Minister Amit Shah as his successor, Kejriwal had said.
But Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh called Kejriwal's statement "absurd and unfortunate". Singh was also referring to Kejriwal's statement about "removing" Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
Kejriwal claimed that the BJP would remove Adityanath as Uttar Pradesh chief minister within two months if it returned to power at the Centre.
Hitting back at Kejriwal during a public meeting in Rajajipuram, Singh said, "The chief minister of Delhi said that Modi ji will not become the prime minister after the 2024 elections. I am surprised. He has just come out on bail, he has to go to jail again after June 1, and he is talking such nonsense about the prime minister of India."
"The entire country wants Modi ji to be the prime minister in 2024 as well as 2029," he added.
On May 10, the Supreme Court granted Kejriwal interim bail till June 1, the last day of the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections, and directed him to surrender and go back to jail on June 2.
The Defence Minister further said, "He (Kejriwal) also spoke nonsense about our chief minister. Modi ji will not remain the prime minister, and Yogi ji will not remain the chief minister. That means only he (Kejriwal) will remain and no one else."
"It is very unfortunate to say such things about such strong and effective leadership. I want to say that politics cannot be done only by telling lies. Meaningful politics can be done only by speaking the truth," the senior BJP leader added.