No ‘namaz break’ in Assam Assembly after nearly 90 years
Guwahati, Feb 21 (PTI): The decades-old Assam Assembly tradition of a two-hour break to facilitate Muslim legislators to offer ‘namaz’ on Fridays was discontinued for the first time during the ongoing budget session.
The decision to do away with the break was taken in the last session of the House in August, but implemented from this sitting.
Expressing dissatisfaction over it, AIUDF MLA Rafiqul Islam maintained that it was a decision imposed on the strength of numbers.
“There are about 30 Muslim MLAs in the assembly. We had expressed our views against the move. But they (the BJP) have the numbers and are imposing it on the basis of that,” Islam said.
Leader of Opposition Debabrata Saikia of the Congress said provision can be made for the Muslim MLAs to offer ‘namaz’ nearby on Fridays.
“Today, several of my party colleagues and AIUDF MLAs missed important discussion as they went to offer ‘namaz’. Since it is a special prayer requirement only for Fridays, I think a provision can be made for it nearby,” he said.
The decision to discontinue the nearly 90-year-old practice was taken by the Rules Committee of the House, headed by the Speaker, in August last year.
Speaker Biswajit Daimary, “in view of the secular nature of the Constitution, had proposed that the Assam Legislative Assembly must conduct its proceedings on Fridays like any other day”, which was placed before the Rules Committee and passed unanimously.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had welcomed the decision, stating that it was a practice introduced by the Muslim League's Syed Saadulla in 1937, and the decision to discontinue the break “prioritised productivity and shed another vestige of colonial baggage”.
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TN Assembly elections: Eight-month pregnant homemaker wins Thiru Vi Ka Nagar seat for TVK
Chennai (PTI): Before giving birth, she had already delivered a mandate—a symbol of hope for Thiru Vi Ka Nagar.
Echoing Delhi’s 2013 “common citizen” political churn associated with the rise of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), an eight-month-pregnant homemaker, M R Pallavi, has been elected as an MLA from Chennai’s Thiru Vi Ka Nagar constituency, emerging as one of the notable first-time faces of the Vijay-led TVK in the recently held Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.
In the narrow lanes of Thiru Vi Ka Nagar, a steady stream of media personnel has been making their way to Pallavi’s residence—a scene reminiscent of the result day in Delhi when journalists thronged the modest home of Rakhi Birla, who had won from Mangolpuri on an AAP ticket.
Pallavi, 36, a homemaker educated up to class XII, defeated the DMK candidate K S Ravichandran by a margin of 22,333 votes in the reserved Thiru Vi Ka Nagar Assembly constituency.
Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam emerged as the single largest party by winning 108 seats, while DMK and AIADMK got 59 and 47, respectively.
Pallavi’s victory has drawn attention due to her personal circumstances. She campaigned extensively while eight months pregnant, going door-to-door to reach voters.
According to local accounts, she even fainted once during the campaign but continued her outreach.
She has not spoken to the media following her victory, as doctors have advised her to rest. Her husband, Rajesh, briefly recounted her campaign efforts.
A self-professed admirer of actor-turned-politician Vijay, Pallavi joined TVK soon after its formation and is now among its first-time legislators.
Doctors have advised her to be hospitalised around May 20, as she is expecting her second child. Ahead of that, voters in Thiru Vi Ka Nagar have entrusted her with representing them in the state Assembly.
Political observers say the rise of candidates like Pallavi signals a possible shift in Tamil Nadu’s political landscape, with voters backing a new party and candidates from non-traditional backgrounds.
