Fact Check: PM Modi Has Not Announced Retirement; Viral Social Media Claim Is False

New Delhi (Vishvas News): Recently, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed his retirement during his visit to the RSS headquarters in Napur. Raut further alleged that a ‘closed-door’ meeting was held to decide PM Modi’s successor, suggesting that the next Prime Minister would be from Maharashtra. Following this, a message has gone viral on social media, asserting that PM Modi has officially announced his resignation and that his tenure will end on September 16, 2025.

Vishvas News investigated the claim and found it to be false. PM Modi has not made any such resignation announcement. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has denied Raut’s statement, clarifying that PM Modi is not stepping down.

What is viral?

A Facebook page named ‘NewsOne Live TV’ shared a graphic on April 2, with the caption “Breaking News- Prime Minister Narendra Modi announces retirement from Politics ” September 16th will be my last day at work: PM Narendra Modi “

Investigation

While conducting an open search on Google using relevant keywords, we found several news reports discussing Raut’s statement about the Prime Minister’s alleged resignation.

According to a report published on the Mint website dated March 31, 2025, “Sanjay Raut, leader of Shiv Sena (UBT), on Monday claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the RSS headquarters in Maharashtra’s Nagpur on Sunday to “announce his retirement”. Raut also claimed that a ‘closed-door’ meeting happened to discuss PM Modi’s successor, adding that the next PM will be from Maharashtra.” However, the same report quoted Maharashtra Chief Minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis as refuting Raut’s claim, saying “there is no need to search for PM Modi’s successor as he will continue to hold the top post again in 2029. In our culture, when the father is alive, it is inappropriate to talk about succession. That is Mughal culture. The time has not come to discuss it.” The report also quoted senior RSS leader Suresh ‘Bhaiyaji’ Joshi, who was also in Nagpur, saying that he was “not aware of any talk of (PM’s) replacement.”

As reported by The Hindu on March 31, 2025, “The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh will decide the successor of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Shiv Sena UBT leader Sanjay Raut said on Monday (March 31, 2025), adding that the successor will probably be from Maharashtra. The BJP was quick to refute these speculations. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that the country and the party looked at Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister in 2029 as well, and that it was a Mughal tradition to speak of succession when the ‘father was alive’.”

PM Modi, born on September 17, 1950, will turn 75 this year. Citing his age, Raut fueled speculations about Modi’s potential retirement. Raut claimed there is an undeclared policy within RSS and BJP that leaders retire after 75, implying that PM Modi would also follow suit. A keyword search led us to a Live Mint report dated May 22, 2024, which stated that “Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Union Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said that it was never decided that people above 75 years of age will not contest elections.” According to reports, former BJP president Rajnath Singh addressed this in an interview with the Times of India published on May 22, 2024. When asked about the party’s rule barring leaders above 75 from contesting elections and that this decision was made during his tenure, he replied: “It was never decided. You can write in bold letters that no such decision was taken… I was the party president, and I am insisting that no such decision was taken. If it was decided, it would have been mentioned in the party constitution.”

Maharashtra BJP President Chandrashekhar Bawankule also addressed Sanjay Raut’s remarks on the retirement age, refuting the claim in a post on X. He stated, “Sanjay Raut’s statement is nothing but a political stunt. There is no rule or decision stating that our respected Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji will have to retire from politics after the age of 75. This is not mentioned in any official BJP policy, nor is there any such resolution or rule in the Indian Constitution. Leaders like Atal Bihari Vajpayee remained Prime Minister until the age of 79, Morarji Desai served until the age of 83, and Dr. Manmohan Singh continued until 81. But Raut, who seems to have lost his mental balance and is filled with hatred towards the BJP, conveniently forgets these facts. In Indian democracy, a Prime Minister’s retirement is not determined by the whims of individuals like Sanjay Raut, but by the electoral mandate and the blessings of the people. The duration of Prime Minister Modi’s tenure will be decided by the people of this country, not by Raut or the opposition. Prime Minister Modi is committed to making India a developed nation by 2047, and this vision will come true under his leadership.”

उबाठाचे नेते संजय राऊत यांचे विधान ही केवळ राजकीय स्टंटबाजी आहे. 75 वर्षे वयानंतर आदरणीय पंतप्रधान नरेंद्र मोदी जी यांनी राजकारण सोडावे, असा कोणताही नियम नाही किंवा असा कुठलाही निर्णय झालेला नाही. भाजपच्या कोणत्याही अधिकृत धोरणातही असे म्हटलेले नाही.

भारतीय संविधानातही असा…

— Chandrashekhar Bawankule (@cbawankule) April 1, 2025

We spoke to BJP National Spokesperson Vijay Sonkar Shastri regarding the viral claim. He confirmed that this post is fake and that PM Modi has not announced his retirement.

A similar post had previously circulated on social media, claiming that the BJP had included Narendra Modi and Rajnath Singh in the Margdarshak Mandal, suggesting that PM Modi had signaled his retirement. However, a fact-check by Vishvas News revealed that both leaders have been part of the Margdarshak Mandal since 2014. The complete fact-check can be read here.

The Facebook user ‘NewsOne Live TV’ who shared the viral clip with the fake claim has over 13000 followers.

Conclusion: Vishvas News, in its investigation, found the viral claim to be fake. The BJP has categorically denied the claim that PM Modi has announced his retirement.

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• BJP
• PM Modi
• PM Modi Retirement