Assam scraps 2-hour namaz break on Fridays in assembly
What's the story
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has announced the cancelation of the two-hour namaz break on Fridays in the Assam Legislative Assembly. The decision, made public on Friday, eliminates a long-standing provision that allowed Muslim lawmakers and staff members to take a break for Friday prayers, or namaz. Sarma expressed his gratitude to Assembly Speaker Biswajit Daimary and the legislators for supporting this "historic decision."
Productivity focus
Sarma emphasizes productivity over outdated practices
Sarma emphasized that by abolishing the Jumma break, the Assam Assembly is prioritizing legislative productivity over practices that he views as outdated. "By doing away with the 2-hour Jumma break, Assam Assembly has prioritized productivity and shed another vestige of colonial baggage," Sarma stated. He also mentioned that the practice was introduced by Muslim League's Syed Saadulla in 1937.
Schedule change
Unanimous decision ends long-standing namaz break
The scrapping of the namaz break in the Assam Legislative Assembly was a unanimous decision made by all assembly members, effectively ending the practice of a two-hour break from 12:00pm to 2:00pm on Fridays. This decision marks a significant change in the Assembly's schedule, which will now commence its proceedings at 9:30am every day, including Fridays. Previously, the Assam Assembly started at 9.30am from Monday to Thursday and on Friday, it began at 9:00am to accommodate for the two-hour break.
Legislative update
Assam Assembly passes bill on Muslim marriage registration
The development came a day after the assembly passed a bill for compulsory government registration of marriage and divorce of Muslim people. "We are not interfering with the marriages solemnized by Islamic rituals under Muslim Personnel Law at all. Our only condition is that Islam prohibited marriages will not be registered," he said. Sarma added, "We want to abolish the Qazi system in the Muslim marriage registration process. Apart from it we also want to prevent Child marriage."