The Assam assembly has decided to scrap its decades-old rule of giving a two-hour namaz break for Muslim legislators on Fridays. The assembly rules committee today adopted a resolution today to continue the business of the House on Friday like other days. Till today, the Assam assembly used to adjourn for two hours on Fridays to allow the Muslim MLAs to attend the namaz prayers.
"Since the creation of the Assam Legislative Assembly, the sitting of the Assembly on Friday used to be adjourned at 11 am to facilitate Muslim members to go for namaz. The assembly used to resume its proceedings in the post-lunch session after the Muslim members came back from the namaz. On all other days, the House used to conduct its proceedings without any such adjournment for religious purposes," said a press statement.
It further stated, "Shri Biswajit Daimary, Hon'ble Speaker took note of this matter and in view of the secular nature of the Constitution, proposed that the Assam Legislative Assembly must conduct its proceedings on Fridays like any other day without any adjournment to facilitate Muslim members to go for namaz,".
"By doing away with the 2-hour Jumma break, @AssamAssembly has prioritised productivity and shed another vestige of colonial baggage. This practice was introduced by Muslim League's Syed Saadulla in 1937," Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma posted on X.
The opposition has criticised the move and said it "hurts Muslim sentiments".
On Fridays, there will be trouble in those two hours if any important bill comes for discussion, we might not be there," said AIUDF MLA Rafikul Islam.
His party colleague Mujibur Rehman alleged, "So many chief ministers came but no one tried this but Himanta Biswas Sarma is only doing this to hurt the Muslim sentiments and create a divide between and Hindus Muslims".
Congress MLA Jakir Hussain Sikdar said, "This has been a tradition and a trend that the House followed for decades. They decided to change it but was there a broader consultation? They have to explain why this decision was taken."
BJP MLA Taranga Gogoi welcomed the move and said there should not be special rules for one community.
"This is a secular country and inside the assembly, there should not be special rules for one community so we welcome this decision. If they need to offer namaz they can have a separate room like in airports etc. They cannot have separate arrangements. Every Friday, the House used to be adjourned for two hours. This was a waste of time," he said.
With this resolution, Assam is set to another pre-Independence era rule.
On Thursday, the assembly passed a Bill that would require compulsory registration of Muslim marriages and divorces with the government.
The Assembly passed the Assam Compulsory Registration of Muslim Marriages and Divorces Bill, 2024, aiming to safeguard the rights of Muslim women and men and eliminate child marriages. This legislation replaces the archaic Assam Moslem Marriages and Divorces Registration Act, 1935.
