Assam scraps 87-year-old practice of two-hour namaz break on Friday in state assembly

Guwahati: Assam Assembly has decided to end the two hour break for namaz on Friday, which has remained in practice for the past 87 years.

This was decided after the Rules of Procedure of Assam Assembly was amended by the Rules Committee headed by Speaker Biswajit Daimary.

A notification issued on Friday, the last day of the autumn session of the Assembly, said the decision to do away with the practice was taken as such practice was not followed for other days of the week. It said the decision was taken in view of the secular nature of the Constitution.

This practice was started in 1937, when Assam Assembly started its functioning. House used to be adjourned at 11am on Friday for two hours to facilitate the Muslim MLAs to perform namaz and resume work after lunch.

"On all other days, the House used to conduct its proceedings without any such adjournment for religious purposes. 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 namaaz. Accordingly, the proposal to do away with this rule in the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly was placed before the Rules Committee headed by the Hon'ble Speaker," said the notification.

It said history was created by doing away with "the colonial practice which was aimed at dividing the society on religious basis."

In a post on X, CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said by doing away with the two hour Jumma break, the Assembly has prioritised productivity and shed another vestige of colonial baggage.

"This practice was introduced by Muslim League’s Syed Saadulla in 1937. my gratitude to Hon’ble Speaker Shri @BiswajitDaimar5 dangoriya and our legislators for this historical decision," Sarma said.

Sources said the same will be in force from the next session of the Assembly (winter session).

The Opposition AIUDF said it was another move by the BJP-led government to target the Muslims for political benefits.

The decision has been taken amid several statements of Sarma targeting the Bengali Muslims in Assam. The BJP-led government was criticised on Thursday after the Assembly repealed a 1935 act for registration of Muslim marriages and divorces. The Assembly passed another bill for making compulsory registration of Muslim marriages and divorces.