Moradabad (Uttar Pradesh): Sambhal Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Dr Shafiqur Rahman Barq passed away on Tuesday. He was unwell for several days and was undergoing treatment in a private hospital in Moradabad, family sources said.
He was 94 years old. He was the oldest MP in the Lok Sabha. Recently, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav visited Barq at the hospital to inquire about his condition.
He was Samajwadi Party MP from the Moradabad Lok Sabha constituency in 1996-98 and 2004. In 2009, he became MP on a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) ticket and in 2019 he was elected from the Sambhal Lok Sabha constituency.
During the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, BJP's Parmeshwar Lal Saini defeated Shafiqur Rahman Barq by 5,174 votes. SP had once again made Baqr its candidate for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
He started his political career 57 years ago and was influenced by late former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh. After coming in contact with him, he started his political innings. Barq created a distinct identity for himself in Sambhal. He had opposed Vande Mataram in Parliament.
Akhilesh Yadav condoled Barq's demise and in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, stated, "The demise of senior Samajwadi Party leader and several-time MP Shafiqur Rahman Barq Saheb is extremely sad. May his soul rest in peace. May the bereaved family members get the strength to bear this immense sorrow. Heartfelt tribute!".
