Indresh Kumar joined the RSS as a full-time Pracharak in 1970. (File)
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader Indresh Kumar caused a controversy by attributing the BJP's lower-than-expected seat count in the Lok Sabha elections to "arrogance." On Thursday, he said, "The party which did bhakti of Lord Ram and became arrogant was stopped at 240; however, it became the biggest party."
A day later, the RSS leader tried to clarify his remarks by saying, "The mood of the country is very clear at present. Those who opposed Lord Ram are not in power; those who set the goal to respect Lord Ram are in power and the government has been formed for the third time under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi."
Here are some facts on RSS leader Indresh Kumar:
Indresh Kumar was born on February 18,1949, in Samana, Punjab. He studied mechanical engineering at Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh. He joined the RSS as a full-time Pracharak in 1970. He is now a member of the national executive.
Indresh Kumar is also the guide (margadarshak) of the Muslim Rashtriya Manch, an RSS-supported Muslim organisation. He has been a prominent figure in the Sangh Parivar's efforts to reach out to the Muslim community.
Indresh Kumar was linked to the 2007 Ajmer bomb blast case and was probed by investigation agencies, including the CBI for the 2007 Mecca Masjid blast in Hyderabad. Ten years later, in 2017, the NIA submitted a closure report, clearing Indresh Kumar and other accused of any prosecutable evidence.
In 2014, Mr Kumar criticised the alleged smear campaign against former solicitor-general Gopal Subramanium regarding his Supreme Court judgeship. In 2015, he defended then Foreign Minister late Sushma Swaraj during a political controversy involving Lalit Modi, despite the RSS' displeasure with him speaking out without authorisation. In 2017, he caused a stir by claiming Bhagat Singh was a greater believer of non-violence than Mahatma Gandhi and criticised Gandhi's role in the partition of India.
In 2019, he was awarded an honorary doctorate in Literature by Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti Urdu, Arabi-Farsi University in Lucknow.