Retired IAS, IPS officers from Karnataka urge Rajya Sabha Chairman to put oath of office of Syed Naseer Hussain on hold

They want the process to be put on hold till the member is absolved of alleged involvement in raising ‘Pakistan zindabad’ slogans in the corridors of the State secretariat

A file photo of Karnataka Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar (2nd from right) with newly-elected Congress Rajya Sabha MPs Syed Naseer Hussain, G.C. Chandrashekar and Ajay Maken, at Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru on February 27, 2024.

A group of 22 retired all-India service officers of IAS, IPS, IFS and IRS from Karnataka have written to Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar, who is also Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, to put the administration of oath of office to newly-elected member Syed Naseer Hussain of the Congress on hold.

They want the process to be put on hold till the member is absolved of alleged involvement in raising ‘Pakistan zindabad’ slogans in the corridors of the Karnataka secretariat soon after declaration of the results of the elections to the Rajya Sabha.

In a memorandum submitted to the Rajya Sabha Chairman, they urged Mr. Dhankhar to take steps to prevent such incidents in the future.

On March 4, Bengaluru police arrested three persons in connection with the case, which was registered on February 27.

The BJP has staged protests inside and outside the State legislature demanding a probe into the episode.