Recently, a photocard bearing the logo of Indian media outlet Times Now has been circulating, claiming that the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, has stated he will retire from politics on September 16.
See some of the Facebook posts making this claim here, here, and here.
Fact Check
Rumor Scanner’s investigation has revealed that Times Now has not published any news or photocard making the claim that Narendra Modi is retiring from politics. Instead, the false claim has been spread using the media outlet’s logo.
At the beginning of the investigation, the Rumor Scanner team reviewed the Facebook Page and X (formerly Twitter) account of Times Now, as referenced in the circulated posts. No such photocard was found. No news article related to this claim was found on the media outlet’s official website either.
Further investigation into credible mainstream Indian media and reliable sources found no public statement from Prime Minister Modi (or his party BJP) announcing a date for retirement from politics.
Several Indian fact-checkers have also confirmed to Rumor Scanner that Modi has not made any such public comment.
An investigation into the context of the claim (link) reveals that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will turn 75 on September 17. BJP has an internal practice where politicians are expected to retire once they reach the age of 75. Based on this, the photocard uses the date before Modi’s birthday to spread the false claim.
However, another incident has emerged as a backdrop to this discussion. Recently, Narendra Modi visited the headquarters of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in Nagpur and held a meeting with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat. Following this, Sanjay Raut, a leader of the opposition alliance and member of Shiv Sena, claimed that the RSS wants Modi to retire. At a press conference in Mumbai, Mr. Raut said, “He probably went to the RSS headquarters in September to submit his resignation. As far as I know, in the past 10–11 years Modi ji has never gone to the RSS headquarters. Modi ji went there to tell Mohan Bhagwat: ta ta, bye bye. I’m leaving.”
This has sparked intense debate. BJP leaders, however, say there is no possibility of such an event happening.
Conclusion: The photocard circulated under the name of Indian media outlet Times Now, claiming that Narendra Modi will retire from politics on September 16, is fake.
Sources
- DW Bangla: Did Modi talk to Bhagwat about retirement?
- Rumor Scanner’s own analysis
