Congress Rajya Sabha MP Praveen Rashtrapal passes away

NEW DELHI: Congress member of Rajya Sabha Praveen Rashtrapal died here early today after suffering a massive heart attack.

Rashtrapal (76) had three daughters and a son. His wife had passed away a couple of years ago.

His aide Amrut Pandya said that the MP from Gujarat had complained of uneasiness but before he could be provided medical assistance, he suffered a cardiac arrest and passed away.

An AICC Secretary, who was also in charge of Uttar Pradesh affairs, Rashtrapal was associated with the trade union movement of Income Tax employees in particular and the Central Government employees. He was an Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax before he took a plunge into politics.

He was a elected to the 13th Lok Sabha (1999-2004). He was a member from the Upper House from April 2006 to April 2012 and was re-elected in April 2012.

Rashtrapal was a member of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on 2G scam in the previous Lok Sabha.

Following his demise, Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned for the day today.