Former Union minister, veteran leader Rasheed Masood passes away

Masood’s nephew said he had undergone treatment after getting infected with Covid-19 on August 27.

Former Union minister and veteran leader Qazi Rasheed Masood died at a private hospital in Roorkee, Uttarakhand, on Monday morning, his nephew and Congress leader Imran Masood said. He was 73. Rasheed Masood’s last rites would be performed at his native town Gangoh in Saharanpur district.

Rasheed Masood played a pivotal role in the politics of west Uttar Pradesh for decades.(ANI)

Imran Masood said Rasheed Masood had undergone treatment after getting infected with Covid-19 on August 27 and recovered later. However, he complained of a sore throat two days ago and was admitted in a hospital in Roorkee where he passed away on Monday morning due to multi-organ failure.

Born in Gangoh on August 15, 1947, Rasheed Masood played a pivotal role in the politics of west Uttar Pradesh for decades. He had been a member of Parliament (MP) nine times while he was associated with different political parties, including the Janata Dal, the Lok Dal, the Janata Party, the Rashtriya Lok Dal, the Samajwadi Party and the Congress. He had also served as the Union minister of state for health (independent charge) in the VP Singh government from April to November 1990.

Masood started his political career by contesting from Nakur assembly seat in Saharanpur in 1974 and lost. He then won the Saharanpur Lok Sabha seat on the Janata Party ticket in 1977. He parted ways with the Janata Party later. After joining the Lok Dal, he became an MP again in 1980. In 1986, the Lok Dal sent him to the Rajya Sabha.

In 1989, he won the Lok Sabha election from Saharanpur on a Janata Dal ticket. He later joined the Samajwadi Party and won the 2004 Lok Sabha election after facing defeat in 1996, 1997 and 1999. He lost the 2009 Lok Sabha election.

Rasheed Masood was also the candidate of the United National Progressive Alliance in the election for the Vice President’s post in 2007. He finished third.

He was awarded a four-year jail term in an MBBS seat scam case in 2013 after which he was disqualified from Parliament.