Rasheed Masood

Who is Rasheed Masood?

Rasheed Masood is the first Indian parliamentarian to be found guilty in a criminal case after the Supreme Court of India ruled that lawmakers stand immediately disqualified if they are convicted for offenses that carry a sentence of more than two years. On 19 September 2013 he was convicted for cheating, criminal conspiracy and forgery in medical admission scam during his tenure of Central minister of State for health.

He is an Indian politician, a member of the Indian National Congress party and a former member of the Lok Sabha representing Saharanpur constituency in Uttar Pradesh. He was a member of the Rajya Sabha. He was also the United National Progressive Alliance candidate for the Vice-President in the 10 August 2007 election and placed third with 75 votes.

He has earned B.Sc and LLM from Aligarh Muslim University.Masood is an agriculturist by profession. He was general secretary of Bharatiya Lok Dal between 1975 and 1977. He was elected to the 6th Lok Sabha for the first time on a Janata Party ticket in the post-emergency polls in 1977. He went on to become the treasurer of the Janata Parliamentary Party between 1979 and 1980.

Masood was re-elected to the 7th Lok Sabha on a Lok Dal ticket in the 1980 polls. After being the chief whip of Lok Dal in 1982, he became the deputy leader of Lok Dal Parliamentary Party for more than a year. He was the member of the Rajya Sabha from 1986 to 89. From 1989 to 91, he was a member of the 9th Lok Sabha. From April to November 1990, he was Minister of Health and Family Welfare in the V P Singh government. In 1991 he was re-elected to the 10th Lok Sabha.