Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Thursday cleared his stance on his and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s retirement.
“…I never said I will retire or someone should retire,” he said, responding to a question on whether the RSS believed people in constitutional posts should retire at 75.
“In Sangh, we are given a job, whether we want it or not. If I am 80 years old, and Sangh says go and run a ‘shakha’, I will have to do it. We do whatever the Sangh tells us to do…This is not for anyone’s retirement. We are ready to retire or work – as long as the Sangh wants us to,” Bhagwat said in an event in Delhi,” he added.
#WATCH | Delhi | On the question of ‘Should Indian leaders retire at the age of 75 years’, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat says, “…I never said I will retire or someone should retire. In Sangh, we are given a job, whether we want it or not. If I am 80 years old, and Sangh says go and… pic.twitter.com/p8wq03IKYj
— ANI (@ANI) August 28, 2025
Bhagwat’s clarification came after one of his comments at a book launch event in July triggered a political row when he recalled an old RSS meeting where senior leader Moropant Pingle was felicitated at 75. He quoted him as saying, “When a shawl is draped at the age of 75, it means you have grown old, just move aside, let us do it.”
On question of if a married person can head the outfit, Bhagwat said there is no such bar but the person “needs to devote all his time to the organisation.”
