Former minister and TDP leader Bashiruddin Babu Khan breathed his last at his residence here on Sunday after a prolonged illness.
He was 73 and is survived by a son and two daughters.
Khan, an eminent Muslim activist, was elected to the Assembly from Nizamabad in 1985 and 1994. As a minister in the TDP governments headed by NT Rama Rao and N Chandrababu Naidu, he held the portfolios of higher education, industries, tourism and minorities’ welfare.
Babu Khan quit the party and the ministry in 1998 in protest against TDP’s support to the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre, and had been away from active politics ever since. However, he continued to serve the poor and needy Muslims, especially to provide education to youth. Babu Khan, also a businessman, built several commercial complexes in the city.
Before joining the TDP, Khan was in the Congress. His father, Khan Bahadur Abdul Karim Babu Khan, built Gandhi Bhavan, the state headquarters of Congress and dontated it to the Congress.
Namaz-e-Janaza (funeral prayer) was offered at Royal Mosque, Bagh-e-Aam, Nampally. TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu said Khan worked hard to see that the Central and state governments’ schemes reached needy Muslim youths.