The three-day Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha (ABPS) of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has re-elected Shri Dattatreya Hosabale ji for the post of Sarkaryavah (general secretary) for three more years. The annual meet began on 15 March and will end on the 17th.
“The RSS Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha (ABPS) re-elected (2024-2027) Shri Dattatreya Hosabale ji for the post of Sarkaryavah. He has been discharging the responsibility of Sarkaryavah since 2021,” the organisation posted on X. The Sarkaryavah is the executive head of the organisation and conducts the affairs of the Sangh, according to the RSS website.
Until now, there have been seven Sarsanghchalaks and 14 Sarkaryavahs of the Sangh. Currently, Dr Mohan Bhagwat is serving as RSS Sarsanghchalak.
The ‘Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha’ of the RSS began on Friday at the Smriti Bhavan complex in Reshimbagh, Nagpur (the headquarters of the RSS) after a gap of six years. More than 1,500 representatives of various RSS-affiliated organisations are attending the meeting.
Addressing a press conference in Nagpur, Dattatreya Hosabale said, "Sangh is getting into the hearts of the people and the impact of the Sangh is also increasing in the society. The way people welcomed us across the country during the 'Akshat Vitaran' before the Pran Pratistha of Ram Lalla shows the environment of the country".
"Ram temple is the symbol of India's civilization and its culture. Shri Ram is the civilizational identity of the country, this has been proven time and again and also proven on January 22. Approximately 20 crore houses have been reached by the RSS or people with our ideology, this is a record in India's history that such a thing has happened in just 15 days," he said.
In response to queries regarding electoral bonds, Hosabale remarked, "RSS has not thought anything about this subject. It has not even been discussed here in Pratinidhi Sabah because electoral bonds is an experiment, such experiments keep happening, there should be checks and balances."
He emphasized the need for scrutiny and evaluation of such systems, pointing out that the concept of electoral bonds is not entirely new and has been implemented before.
The Election Commission on Thursday released the electoral bonds data, with a number of billionaire tycoons and lesser-known entities being among the buyers.
Who is Hosabale?
Known as 'Dattaji', Hosabale (69) has been serving as the 'Sarkaryavah' since 2021. He was born on 1 December 1954 in a Yadav family in Hosabale village in Soraba taluk of Shimoga district of Karnataka. His family had several RSS activists.
He is proficient in many languages including English, Hindi, Sanskrit, Tamil, Marathi, and his mother tongue Kannada. He holds a Master's degree in English. He is the founder-editor of the popular Kannada & English monthly 'Aseema'.
At the age of 13, he became a volunteer of the Sangh in 1968 and in 1972, he joined its student wing - the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). He took active participation in the 1975-77 JP movement and even went to jail for two and a half years under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act during the Emergency.
In 1978, he served as the Nagpur Municipal Contact Head of Vidyarthi Parishad (Student Council) and was known for playing an important role in running the Youth Development Center in Guwahati.
In 2003, he became in charge of intellectual training of the RSS. In 2004, he became Sahbaudhik pramukh (second in command of the intellectual wing of RSS) in 2004. In 2009, he was made Sah-Sarkaryawah (co-general secretary).
He became Sarkaryavah of the organisation in 2009, a role he continued till 2021. In April 2015, he was sent as the head of the relief team and material by the Sangh at the time of the massive earthquake in Nepal.
Hosabale took over as the RSS general secretary from Bhaiyaji Joshi in 2021.
(With additional inputs from ANI and PTI)