Is Modi Exempt From BJP's Age Rule, Revanth Reddy Asks

Chief Minister Revanth Reddy today said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was unwilling to relinquish his position.

At a legal conclave at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi, Reddy said that Mohan Bhagwat, the head of the BJP's parent organisation the RSS, had earlier said that individuals above the age of 75 should step down from public roles, but that despite crossing that age, Modi had not followed this guideline and continued to serve as Prime Minister.

Reddy pointed out that senior BJP leaders L K Advani and Murali Manohar Joshi were sidelined based on that very principle.

He also recalled that former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had once tried to remove Modi from the post of Gujarat Chief Minister, and said that Bhagwat had later sought to replace the same person as Prime Minister - though both efforts were unsuccessful. That showed that Modi was disliked by many respected people even within the BJP and the RSS, but the brutal grip he had over the party ensured that rules applicable for others were not applicable to him.

Reddy also accused the PM of undermining the Constitution and ignoring social justice for years, and said that the Congress government in Telangana was on the contrary committed to the upliftment of the dalits and adivasis, and had already conducted a caste census, presenting it as a model of social justice for the rest of India.

He also said that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi would contest against Modi in the next Lok Sabha elections and defeat him, and that the BJP would not win more than 150 seats. A national caste census with the goal of achieving true social justice would then be carried out under Rahul Gandhi's leadership, he claimed.

He also criticised the leaders of rival parties for being active only when in power and retreating from public life after electoral losses. The Congress in contrast remained closely connected with the people regardless of election outcomes, and was committed to ushering in a new era of social equity across the country, he said.