"Historic decision": BJP's Taranga Gogoi after Assam Assembly ends practice of two-hour Jumma break

Guwahati (Assam) [India], August 30 (ANI): After the Assam legislative assembly decided to end the practice of a two-hour Jumma break, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Taranga Gogoi dubbed it as "historic" and said that India is a secular country.
"As India is a secular country and if somebody takes a break for Namaz, Hindus can also take a break for our rituals. But the break was given to a particular community for many years. It is a historic decision," Taranga Gogoi said while speaking to ANI on Friday.
"AIUDF and Congress MLAs should also thank the state government," he added.
Assam Assembly earlier in the day ended the practice of a two-hour adjournment for Jumma Prayers, every Friday. This practice was introduced by Saadulah's Muslim League government in colonial Assam.
Assam Legislative Assembly today officially amended the rule providing for a two-hour break Jumma break, historically observed to facilitate Muslim legislators to offer Friday prayers.
According to the previous rule, the sitting of the Assembly on Friday used to be adjourned at 11 am to facilitate Muslim members to go for namaaz, but, as per the new rule, the Assembly will conduct its proceedings without any adjournment for religious purposes.
As per the amended rule, the Assam assembly will commence its proceedings at 9.30 am every day, including Fridays. The order stated that the amendment was done to scrap the colonial practice which aimed at dividing the society on a religious basis.
In a post on X, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the decision was taken to prioritise the productivity of the assembly. Calling the decision as historic, CM Sarma expressed his gratitude towards the Assembly Speaker Biswajit Daimary for this decision.
"By doing away with the 2-hour Jumma break, @AssamAssembly 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 Biswajit Daimar Dangoriya and our legislators for this historical decision," CM Sarma said. (ANI)