Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will no longer remain the leader of India after June 4, when the 2024 Lok Sabha election results will be declared. PTI informed of. This comes amid speculation about Modi’s possible tenure till September 2025, when he will turn 75.
Tharoor said, “There will be a new government at the Center in June. There is no need to wait till September 2025.” He was responding to a question on Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal’s remarks that Modi would retire after his 75th birthday – as is the precedent set by other senior BJP leaders over the years.
Kejriwal, speaking to the media on May 12, suggested that Modi was supporting Home Minister Amit Shah as his successor after his “retirement” in September 2025 at the age of 75.
Responding to questions about Modi’s “retirement age”, Tharoor questioned whether the BJP would make any exception for him and speculated that Modi’s tenure could end after the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
“Will BJP make an exception for one person? Anyway, we do not need to wait till September 2025. Modi will not be PM after June 2024 (when Lok Sabha election results will be out),” he said.
Criticism of Modi’s sermon
Speaking at a press conference in Mumbai, Tharoor criticized Modi for the standard of “public discourse and the language he uses”, and said it was “not good for the country”.
The three-time Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram also defended his party’s decision to not attend the consecration ceremony of the new Ram temple in Ayodhya earlier this year.
Tharoor said the BJP “does not have any copyright on Lord Ram”, and added, “I go to temples to pray, not to do politics. They are misusing the ‘Pran Pratistha’ ceremony in Ayodhya for politics. Should I surrender to God, Ram to BJP?”
He also attacked the ruling party for its failure to engage in adequate discussion on important issues such as inflation, unemployment, farmers’ income and decline in the income of the majority of the population.
Coalition politics and Muslims
Tharoor cited “compulsions of coalition politics” to justify the Congress’s decision not to field any Muslim candidate in Maharashtra.
“In coalition politics, a party has to contest a lesser number of seats…Making concessions in the larger interest of the alliance cannot be termed as surrender,” he told reporters.
The Congress is part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance in Maharashtra along with Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT).
He criticized the BJP for reportedly sidelining Muslim leaders and claimed that those who were once prominent during Vajpayee’s tenure were sidelined under Modi’s leadership.
“All Muslim leaders who were part of the Vajpayee era were phased out after Modi’s first term (as prime minister). Allies stand with us. Unlike the BJP-led NDA, where the Akali Dal And BJD has rejected him, there is mutual respect.” BJP,” Tharoor said.
He also praised former Prime Ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh for running their coalition governments well.
I am confident about the Lok Sabha election results
Tharoor expressed confidence in the Congress’s prospects in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, especially in Mumbai, where he campaigned for Congress candidates Varsha Gaikwad and Bhushan Patil.
He said, “The priority of the Congress is to protect the essential character of metropolitan Mumbai. After three phases of voting, a change is visible in the air. I am confident that there will be good results in favor of the Congress.”
Voting for all six parliamentary seats in Mumbai is to be held on May 20.
(With inputs from PTI)
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Published: May 13, 2024, 09:32 am IST
