National
R.K. Singh: The officer who once arrested Advani in Bihar (Profile)
New Delhi, Sep 3 (IANS) Known for his administrative acumen, former Union Home Secretary and Lok Sabha member Raj Kumar Singh, who was inducted on Sunday as Minister for Power, New and Renewable Energy at the Centre, was instrumental in the arrest of BJP leader L.K. Advani in 1990 in Bihar.
The 1975-batch Indian Administrative Service officer, who joined the Bharatiya Janata Party after his retirement in 2013, was the District Magistrate of Samastipur in Bihar when in October 1990, on then Chief Minister Lalu Prasad’s orders, he was tasked with the arrest of Advani.
Advani was at that point in time taking out a Rath Yatra in the state en route to Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh from Somnath in Gujarat to build up a popular movement in favour of a Ram Temple at Ayodhya.
Raj Kumar Singh’s official action, however, did not come in the way of Advani who picked him for the post of Joint Secretary in the Home Ministry from 1999 to 2004, when the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was in power.
Later, the officer served as Union Home Secretary under the Congress party-led United Progressive Alliance government from June 30, 2011, to June 30, 2013.
Raj Kumar Singh has served both in Bihar and at the Centre in different capacities, including as Secretary of Defence Production in the UPA government, and head of the Bihar government’s departments of Home, Industries and Public Works.
He successfully contested the 2014 Lok Sabha poll from Arrah. He is known for his contributions to schemes for modernisation of police and prisons, and laying down a framework for disaster management.
It was during the officer’s tenure as Union Home Secretary that Mumbai attack terrorist Ajmal Kasab and Parliament attack case convict Afzal Guru were hanged.
As Union Home Secretary, Raj Kumar Singh also oversaw alleged saffron terror cases involving blasts in Malegaon in Maharashtra and the Samjhauta Express train in Haryana and courted controversy by releasing the names of some suspects.
He also handled as the Home Secretary the public outrage after the December 16, 2012, gang rape of a Delhi woman.
It is said that the then Home Minister P. Chidambaram was very impressed by Raj Kumar Singh’s efficiency and believed he was the man for the job.
However, on his retirement, the former top bureaucrat chose to join the BJP amid much fanfare, expressing his admiration for the party’s approach on issues of national security.
He had criticised the distribution of BJP tickets during the 2015 Bihar assembly elections, which the party lost.
However, with his induction in the Modi governmenet, Raj Kumar Singh seems to have made up with the leadership and he has been rewarded for his administrative acumen.
A well-read man, he studied English literature at St. Stephens College, Delhi, and got a Bachelor’s degree in law thereafter.
He also studied at the RVB Delft University in the Netherlands. Before joining the IAS, he was selected to the Indian Police Service, where he served for one year.
He landed himself briefly in controversy when he criticised the then Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, his former boss, after joining the BJP. The Congress reacted sharply to this.
Raj Kumar Singh was among the four former bureaucrats who were sworn in as Union Ministers in Sunday’s reshuffle. He got the Power, New and Renewable Energy portfolio, earlier held by Piyush Goyal.
–IANS
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Lucknow: Vishal Singh, a renowned social worker from Lucknow, also known as Foodman, has once again made India proud. He was honored by the Happy Hands Gloves Cooperative Limited Company in Korathai, Thailand, for his work with the Hunger Free World Mission.
The Hunger Free World Mission’s meeting was held in Korathai, Thailand, under Vishal Singh’s leadership. Representatives from several countries, including Mr. Raja Dwivedi (Managing Director of Happy Hands Gloves Limited), Thailand Coordinator Mr. Raja Mishra, and member Mr. Varun Singh, attended the event.
Under Vishal Singh’s leadership, the attendees took a pledge to work together toward creating a hunger-free world.
Speaking on the occasion, Vishal Singh explained that the main goal of the Hunger Free World Mission is social participation. He said the mission is not just about feeding people but also about meeting other basic needs of those who are struggling. The mission focuses on helping families of terminally ill patients in hospitals by providing food and shelter. It also works to fulfill essential needs like education, jobs, and care for the elderly.
For the last 16 years, the Vijay Sri Foundation has been providing free services, benefiting thousands of people. Vishal Singh highlighted that the mission aims to gain global recognition like other organizations such as WHO, WWF, and Red Cross, which work for social causes.
During this meeting, Vishal Singh was appointed as the Chairman of the Hunger Free World Mission by representatives from various countries. They also discussed holding regular meetings in different countries to push the mission forward.
Business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has also supported this humanitarian mission, vowing to promote the idea of “Seva Parmo Dharma” (Service is the highest duty) worldwide. Vishal Singh praised him, stating that people like Dr .Abhishek Verma inspire others to work for the betterment of society.
Recently, Romania’s Ambassador, Mr . Daniela Sezonov Ţane, invited Vishal Singh to the Romanian Embassy in Delhi, where they discussed the mission in detail. Impressed by his humanitarian work, she honored Vishal Singh and invited him to Romania to take the mission forward .
Food man Vishal Singh has been serving the people of India for the past 16 years. Through the Vijay Sri Foundation, he provides free meals to cancer patients & their families ,shelter, and education for women & children along with running free old-age homes in Lucknow.
In addition to his humanitarian work, Vishal Singh also addresses issues like crime and corruption through his role as Chairman of Seva Path Media and Managing Director of Vijay Sri Foundation.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Vishal Singh and his team worked tirelessly to provide food and help to the needy, including starving children, elderly citizens, and pregnant women. Despite contracting the virus himself, he continued to assist others after his recovery. He even created a life-saving oxygen regulator using household items, which was praised by doctors both in India and abroad.
In his address at the meeting, Vishal Singh spoke about his mission to create a hunger-free world. He pointed out that India’s large population, along with issues like unemployment and poverty, has caused the country to fall on the Hunger Index. He urged people to contribute just one handful of grains daily to help create a hunger-free world.
He concluded by saying that through social participation, we can empower the people around us, meet their basic needs, and work together to build a stronger, more prosperous, and developed society.
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