The two-hour break given to Muslim MLAs in the Assam Assembly to offer Namaz has been stopped, informed Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. Regarding the decision, Parliamentary Affairs minister of the state informed that the new decision would be implemented from next session.
In a post on X, Sarma said, “By eliminating the 2-hour Jumma break, the Assam Assembly has prioritized productivity and removed another trace of colonial times. This practice was started by Syed Saadulla of the Muslim League in 1937.”
He said that my gratitude to the Assembly Speaker Vishwajit Daimary and our MLAs for this historic decision. Last time this holiday was given on Friday. Last time the two-hour break was given on Friday which was also the last day of autumn session of the assembly.
Meanwhile a statement issued by Speaker’s office said that the proceedings of the House used to start after lunch on Friday, when Muslim members returned from Namaz. In such a situation, on all other days the House functioned without any adjournment for religious purposes.
Speaker Vishwajit Daimary, taking cognizance of the matter and considering the secular nature of the Constitution, proposed that the Assam Legislative Assembly should conduct its proceedings on Friday like any other day.
The proposal to abolish this provision in the rules of procedure of the Assembly was placed before the Rules Committee headed by the Speaker, which unanimously agreed to end this practice.
The statement said that on Friday the House passed a resolution to amend this rule, so that the proceedings of the House on Friday could be conducted like any other day. The statement said that therefore, history has been created by putting an end to this colonial practice, which was aimed at dividing the society on religious grounds.
