Mohan Bhagwat: No Age Limit to Hold Office or Responsibility

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RSS observers note that Bhagwat’s clarifications shouldn’t be seen as a freedom for the BJP to stick with ageing leadership, for exception will be only in extraordinary cases.

By TRH Political Desk

NEW DELHI, August 28, 2025 — Putting to rest wild speculations doing rounds for months, Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat on Thursday denied that he ever advocated for the people holding posts or offices should retire when they turn 75 years of age. His reply was to a specific question if his earlier remarks on age made in Nagpur were meant for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Bhagwat ruled out that he would be retiring when he turns 75 years of age as the head of the RSS. He also said that others too can continue working as long as they deem fit to function.

The RSS chief had shared an anecdote about Moropant Pingle, a senior RSS functionary, who was celebrated by the organisation after he crossed the unofficial age threshold. Bhagwat quoted Pingle, who had remarked at the time that “after 75, one should step back.”

While delivering his speech in Marathi, Bhagwat notably switched to Hindi to narrate the anecdote— a move widely interpreted as deliberate, aimed at a national audience. But the RSS chief made a course correction, clarifying that he never meant to suggest retirement at 75 years of age for those holding organisational posts and offices in the government.

Bhagwat and Modi will turn 75 years of age in the next month. With the clarification coming from Bhagwat, delivered in New Delhi during the concluding session of centenary speeches at the Vigyan Bhawan, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) may sense a relief over the suspense over the incumbent Prime Minister’s stay in the office. Modi is the BJP’s principal poll mascot. The Prime Minister pivots the BJP’s election blitzkrieg in election-bound states.

However, the RSS observers note that Bhagwat’s clarifications shouldn’t be seen as a freedom for the BJP to stick with ageing leadership. They argued that Bhagwat’s clarification should be seen applicable only in exceptional cases such as the Prime Minister and the RSS chief.

The RSS observers also stated that the organisation continues to pursue the cause of guiding younger generation to take the leadership role. This will be a guiding principle also for the BJP, they added.

With Bhagwat lifting the veil of suspense over the Prime Minister, Modi may stay in the office to guide the BJP to the 2029 Lok Sabha elections. But the BJP leaders continue to be sceptical if the exception will also work on ministers in the council of ministers led by Modi at the Centre.

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