CM Assam scraps 2-hour Jumma Prayers break for Muslim MLAs

Guwahati: The Assam Assembly on Friday discontinued the two-hour break for the Muslim MLAs to offer “Jumma Namaz”(Friday prayers).

With this, no specified break on Fridays will now be granted to the Muslim legislators to perform the prayers.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma while hailing the decision expressed his gratitude to the Assam Legislative Assembly (ALA) Speaker Biswajit Daimary.

Terming the decision as “historic,” the Chief Minister said the Assam Assembly has prioritised productivity thus shedding another “vestige” of colonial rule.

“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 and our legislators for this historical decision,” CM Sarma wrote on microblogging site X.

The discontinuation of the two-hour “Jumma Namaz” break on Fridays in the Assam Assembly was a unanimous decision taken by the assembly members thus ending the practice of the break between 12 p.m and 2 p.m.