Former CBI chief M Nageshwar Rao enters politics to lead new party

Former CBI director M Nageshwar Rao has entered active politics, taking charge as the national president of the newly formed Sarvajana Sanatan Party.

The retired IPS officer, who spent nearly forty years in security, law and order, and public administration, officially assumed his new political role on Saturday in Varanasi. His entry into politics marks a major transition for the former top cop, who previously served as the interim director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Speaking in Kashi, Rao said his long career in government had convinced him that administrative reforms alone are no longer enough to rebuild the country.

Instead, he argued, India must pursue modern economic and technological development while remaining anchored to its civilisational heritage.

The four pillars of the SSP

The Sarvajana Sanatan Party (SSP) has built its political platform around four core areas: education, healthcare, livelihoods, and what it calls civilisational reconnection.

Under its education policy, the party plans to integrate traditional Indian knowledge systems and history with modern, global-standard schooling. Its healthcare agenda proposes combining modern medicine with traditional Indian health practices. For livelihoods, the party aims to focus on creating respectable opportunities for young people, farmers, artisans, and small businesses.

The fourth pillar focuses on preserving Indian languages, arts, family structures, and temples, which the party views as essential sources of national strength.

Redefining Sanatan in public life

Rao sought to distance his new organisation from sectarian divisions, stressing that the party's platform is not directed against any particular caste, creed, or community.

"Sanatan is not against anyone," Rao said during his address, describing it as a way of life based on truth, duty, compassion, and justice, rather than just a method of worship or an electoral tool.

He also called for reform in how India's religious heritage is managed. Temples and pilgrimage sites, Rao argued, should be run with greater transparency and meaningful community participation, serving as active cultural and social institutions rather than purely places of prayer.

A roster of the party's new leadership team joined Rao in Varanasi for the announcement, including national vice presidents Mahant Tirthanand and Ritu Rathod, general secretary Raja Saksham Singh Yogi, spokesperson Babita Sharma, and the party's Uttar Pradesh in-charge Rakesh Tiwari.