Syed Naseer Hussain

Syed Naseer Hussain (born June 10,1970) is a senior Indian politician who hails from Ballari, Karnataka. A member of the Indian National Congress (INC), he currently serves as a Member of Parliament representing the state of Karnataka in the Rajya Sabha. He is a Member of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), General Secretary, In-charge for Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh and National Spokesperson. He also serves as Whip CPP in Rajya Sabha.

He was in-charge of the office of the President, Indian National Congress Shri. Mallikarjun Kharge from 23 December 2023 to 14 February 2025, and prior to that, he was the campaign manager for Shri. Mallikarjun Kharge for the office of the President, Indian National Congress.

Hussain has been a political activist and student leader from his school days. He has won several students' union elections and went on to serve as the President of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) in 1999–2000.

He is currently a lead voice in the Parliament on issues related to constitutional rights. He was suspended thrice for protesting on bills and passage of laws affecting farmers' rights, labour codes and breach of security in the Parliament.

Early life Syed Naseer Hussain was born in a Kannadiga Muslim family on 10 June 1970

Suspensions In his tenure as Member of Parliament, Hussain was suspended thrice for protesting against bills that infringed on social justice and security breach in Parliament.

Farm bills (2020) On 22 September 2020, Hussain was suspended from the Rajya Sabha for one week after protesting the passage of the Farm Bills. He and several other MPs had raised slogans and staged a protest in the House over the manner in which the bills were passed, alleging that parliamentary procedures were flouted and the farmers’ interests were sidelined.

He was among the eight MPs who raised slogans of protest and demonstrated before Rajya Sabha deputy chairman Harivansh Rai Singh, for failing to follow House procedures over the passage of farm bills.

Labour codes (2021) Suspended for protesting against labour codes.

The Farm Laws of 2021 were repealed after fourteen months of agitation by the farmers across the country, and opposition MPs continued to demand compensation for more than seventy of the lives lost during the agitation and for fixing MSPs for different commodities. Following the protests and demands, Hussain and eleven other opposition MPs were suspended for the winter session of the Parliament.

Parliament breach (2023) December 14, 2023 - Suspended for protest against 2023 Indian Parliament breach

On December 14 2023, a significant security breach occurred at the Indian Parliament when an individual scaled a 20-meter-high wall and entered the premises near the Garuda Gate. The intruder, identified as a 20-year-old man from Uttar Pradesh, was apprehended by security personnel shortly after gaining access.

The breach later led to the suspension of 146 opposition parliament members on claims of causing disorder, 95 from the Lok Sabha, and 46 from the Rajya Sabha. The suspensions were later condemned by Human Rights Watch.[xiv] Allegedly, the intruders had gained access to the Lok Sabha with the help of sitting BJP MP.

Public-interest missions Date Assignment 2004 Member of the team constituted by the Home Ministry, for rehabilitation of Andaman and Nicobar islands after the 2004 tsunami 2019 Member of the study team to report on the ground situation in Assam during the amendment of IMDT Act 2020 Member of fact-finding committee sent by AICC to investigate the 2020 Jawaharlal Nehru University attack May-June 2025 Member of fact-finding committee constituted by Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) to report on the violence in coastal Karnataka

Keynote speaker and guest of honour Date Program May 14, 2025 Keynote address on “Karnataka: Silicon Valley of the East” at conference on ”Future Ready Karnataka: Deep Tech, Skill Synergy for the Global Economic Leap”, AMCHAM August 18, 2023 Chief Guest at National Executive Board Meeting of AMCHAM India (American Chamber of Commerce in India) November 25, 2021 Guest of honour at the launch of the 10th Australia India Youth Dialogue at the Australian High Commission, New Delhi February 19, 2019 Chief Guest along with the US Ambassador, American Companies' Meet, Bangalore January 31, 2019 Chief Guest at International seminar on “Epic poetry in Urdu, Persian and Arabic: A saga of war and peace” at Jawaharlal Nehru University

Humanitarian services On 17 May 2021, Hussain performed the asthivisargan, last rites of Prof Savitri Vishwanathan who died of COVID-19. Prof.Savitri Vishwanathan, former head of the Chinese and Japanese Studies Department at Delhi University, was a family friend of Hussain's.

During the Covid lockdown, Hussain through AICC helped those stranded in different parts of the country reach their destinations. He was at the forefront in distributing food kits (ration-kits, vegetables) and medicine kits to people in Ballari district, and monitored medical treatment and services for covid affected patients, and operated a dedicated covid relief centre and kitchens that operated 24*7 for the needy and underprivileged.

Personal life Syed Nasir Hussain married Mehnaz Ansari on 6 October 2003. The couple has two sons.