Who is Virendra Kumar? Know your Protem speaker

New Delhi: Dr Virendra Kumar, 63, is a seven-time Lok Sabha member from Tikamgarh in Madhya Pradesh and the BJP’s Dalit face.

He was appointed as Minister of State in the Ministry of Women and Child Development and MoS of Minority Affairs.

Read | BJP MP Dr Virendra Kumar to be Protem Speaker of 17th Lok Sabha

Born on February 27, 1954, Kumar became MP for the first time in 1996 in the 11th Lok Sabha from Sagar. Since then he has never looked back and won from Sagar till 2004. After delimitation he won the lower house elections from Tikamgarh seat in 2009 and 2014.

He is an educationist, holds master degree in economics and did doctorate on child labour from Dr Harisingh Gaur University, Sagar, Madhya Pradesh.

Since childhood, he was associated with RSS and became Convenor of ABVP. Kumar entered active politics by General-Secretary of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha in Sagar District.

Political life:

2017: Union Minister of State, Ministry of Women and Child Development; and Ministry of Minority Affairs.

2014:  Elected to 16th Lok Sabha (6th term); Member, Committee on Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes; Chairperson, Standing Committee on Labour; Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

2010: Member, Committee on the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

2009: Elected to 15th Lok Sabha (5th term); Member, Committee on the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes; Member, Standing Committee on Petroleum and Natural Gas; Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Railways; Member, National Social Security Board; Member, Parliamentary Forum on Children; Deputy Whip in Lok Sabha (BJP).

2004: He was elected to 14th Lok Sabha (4th term); Member, Committee on Privileges Member, Standing Committee on Labour.

He was sentenced for 16 months under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) in Sagar and Jabalpur jails for the JP Movement of 1975.