Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Aug 30: After making it mandatory for registration with the government all Muslim marriages and divorces, the Assam Assembly on Friday moved to amend a rule to do away with the decades old practice of giving two hours break in the afternoon during the House sessions on Fridays to enable the Muslim members to offer “Namaz.”
The assembly rules committee on Friday adopted a resolution to continue the business of the House on Friday like other days. Now Muslim MLAs will not be granted any specific break on Fridays for Namaz prayers. Expressing his gratitude to Assembly speaker Biswajit Daimary Assam Chief Minister Himanta Sarma said the move prioritises productivity.
“By doing away with the 2-hour Jumma break, Assam 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 Biswajit Daimary Assam and our legislators for this historical decision,” said Sarma in an X post.
Biswajit Phukan, a BJP MLA from Sarupathar Assembly segment said, “Since the British times in India, a break used to be given in the Assam Assembly every Friday for offering Namaz. There was a break of two hours between 12 P.M. and 2 P.M. in which Muslim legislators would offer Namaz every Friday. But this rule has been changed from now on and there will be no break.”
He stated that the decision was taken at a meeting conducted by the Speaker of Assam Assembly Biswajit Daimary and it was a unanimous one, supported by other legislators. “Everybody has voiced support for this decision. It has been studied that Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and Assembly houses in other states do not have the provision of giving a break for offering Namaz. Hence the Speaker of Assam Assembly also decided to end this British-era rule,” Phukan stated.
According to him, the Assam Assembly starts at 9.30 am from Monday to Thursday and on Friday, it begins at 9 am to give the two-hour break for Namaz. However, since this has been changed, from now on the Assembly will begin its operation at 9.30 am every day.
“Since the creation of the Assam Legislative Assembly, the sitting of the Assembly on Friday used to be adjourned for two hours 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.”
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.”
Former Bihar Deputy CM and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav reacted to the Assam Assembly ending the 2-hour jumma break saying the CM is doing this for “cheap popularity.” “Who is he? He just wants cheap popularity. BJP has made Muslims a soft target…they want to bother Muslims in some way or the other and spread hatred in the society. BJP should understand that even Muslims had sacrificed their lives in the freedom struggle…” Tejashwi Yadav said.
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.
Speaking during the debate on the bill, the chief minister had said, “The highest Muslim population states in India are Kerala and Jammu & Kashmir. There was already a law to register Muslim marriages. In Kerala, this Act must have been brought either by the Congress or the Left government as the BJP was never in power in this southern state.” He also expressed concern about Muslim women and asserted that the Muslim marriage registration Act will give them safety and security.
