Aug 30, 2024 03:56 PM IST
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The assembly amended Rule 11 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business which dealt with sittings the House.
Guwahati: The Assam assembly on Friday discontinued the British-era practice break during proceedings on Fridays that allowed Muslim leaders to offer namaz (prayers).
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The assembly amended Rule 11 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business which dealt with sittings the House. As per the rule sittings used to commence from 9:30am to 2pm on all weekdays except Friday and Saturday.
On Friday, the House used to sit from 9:30am to 11:30am and 3pm to 5pm, allowing a two-hour break. Though the rules did not specify that the break on Fridays was for offering namaz, it has been used for decades by the Muslim legislators to offer prayers before joining proceedings again.
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According to officials aware of the matter, the issue was raised by Speaker Biswajit Daimary, who felt that in view of the secular nature of the Constitution, proceedings of the assembly must be conducted on Fridays like any other day. Accordingly, a proposal was placed before the rules committee of the House, to which the committee unanimously agreed to drop the rule and adopted a motion to amend the existing rule, allowing proceedings to be conducted on Fridays like any other day.
Since Friday was the last day of the ongoing autumn session of the assembly, the new rule will come into practice from the next session in winter.
Taking to X, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the Assam assembly has prioritised productivity and shed another vestige of colonial baggage by doing away with the two-hour ‘jumma’ (Friday) break.
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“This practice was introduced by the Muslim League’s Syed Saadulla in 1937. My gratitude to Hon’ble Speaker Biswajit Daimary and our legislators for this historical decision,” he wrote.
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A Muslim MLA from the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) said that the rule had been there for many decades and questioned the need to change it. “…What was the need to change an existing tradition? The present BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party)-led government in Assam under Himanta Biswa Sarma is targeting the Muslim community, keeping the 2026 assembly polls in mind,” he said.
