Narendra Modi to be the prime minister in 2024 as well as 2029, Rajnath Singh said.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday dubbed as "absurd and unfortunate" AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal's remarks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "retirement" and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's "removal".
Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal on Thursday repeated his claim that PM Modi will retire from politics once he attains 75 years of age in 2025, in accordance with the saffron party's rules, and added that the prime minister is seeking votes for Union Home Minister Amit Shah as his successor.
He also claimed that the BJP would remove Adityanath as Uttar Pradesh chief minister within two months if it returned to power at the Centre.
Hitting back at Mr Kejriwal during a public meeting in Rajajipuram, Mr Singh said, "The chief minister of Delhi said that Modi ji will not become the prime minister after the 2024 elections. I am surprised. He has just come out on bail, he has to go to jail again after June 1 and he is talking such nonsense about the prime minister of India." "The entire country wants Modi ji to be the prime minister in 2024 as well as 2029," he added.
On May 10, the Supreme Court granted Mr Kejriwal interim bail till June 1, the last day of the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections, and directed him to surrender and go back to jail on June 2.
The Delhi chief minister was arrested on March 21.
Defence Minister further said, "He (Kejriwal) also spoke nonsense about our chief minister. Modi ji will not remain the prime minister, Yogi ji will not remain the chief minister ... That means only he (Kejriwal) will remain and no one else." "It is very unfortunate to say such things about such strong and effective leadership. I want to say that politics cannot be done only by telling lies. Meaningful politics can be done only by speaking the truth," the senior BJP leader added.
The defence minister also took a jibe at Mr Kejriwal over his claims of development in Delhi.
"He (Kejriwal) makes a lot of claims about the development of Delhi. Go and see the condition of Delhi ... what has he done? Whatever development has happened in Delhi, if the maximum credit for it goes to anyone, it goes to Prime Minister Modi ji." Earlier in the day, Mr Kejriwal said at a press conference that Adityanath would be removed as chief minister if the BJP returned to power.
"Prime Minister Modi is going to cross the age of 75 next year and has decided to make Amit Shah the prime minister of the country," Mr Kejriwal said.
He claimed that PM Modi has been working to ensure the same.
"There is only one person who could prove to be a thorn in the way of Amit Shah and that is Adityanath. They have now decided to remove Yogi Adityanath within two months if their government is formed," Mr Kejriwal said.
On the opposition's allegation that democracy will end if the BJP returns to power, Mr Singh said, "They (opposition) say that if Modi ji returns to power, dictatorship will come in the country. He will change the Constitution, democracy will be in trouble. If democracy faced any danger, it was during Indira Gandhi's time as prime minister." "We have never strangled democracy. The Congress has changed the Constitution 132 times. Modi ji has not made a single change in the last 10 years. The opposition is short of issues, that is why it is lying to the public," Mr Singh said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)