NEW DELHI, JUNE 9 :  Veteran leader Rajnath Singh, who took oath as Union Minister just after Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, had been associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh since the tender age of 13.

In 1974 he joined active politics with Bharatiya Jana Sangh. Born in 1951 in a family of farmers, he worked as a lecturer in a post-graduate college. During the emergency, he was detained for two years. B

Before being the Defence Minister, he has played important roles in the party, Uttar Pradesh and central government. In 1991 Rajnath was appointed as Education Minister in the Kalyan Singh government in Uttar Pradesh during which he introduced the Anti-Copying Act.

In 1999 he was elevated as the Union Transport Minister in Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. He also served as the Chief Minister of UP between 2000 to 2002.

After the BJP lost the assembly election he was appointed as the Union Agriculture Minister. He served as the national president of the BJP twice, first between 2005 to 2009 and then again in 2013-2014.

In 2014 when the Modi government came to power he was appointed as the Union Home Minister. In Modi 2.0 he served as the Defence Minister. (UNI)