Guwahati: The Assam Assembly witnessed high drama on Tuesday as opposition AIUDF legislators staged a protest, demanding a breach of privilege motion against Health Minister Ashok Singhal for his alleged remarks against Bengali-speaking Muslims. The protest forced Speaker Biswajit Daimary to adjourn the House for 20 minutes amid the commotion.
The uproar erupted after AIUDF MLA Rafiqul Islam sought to move a breach of privilege motion at the end of Question Hour, arguing that Singhal’s recent statements in his Dhekiajuli constituency suggested that Bengali-speaking Muslims, commonly referred to as ‘Miyas’, would be excluded from government welfare schemes. Islam termed the remarks as discriminatory, insisting that Singhal should either apologize or be dismissed from his ministerial post.
However, Speaker Daimary ruled that the motion did not fulfill the necessary criteria and was therefore disallowed. While acknowledging the sentiments of the community, he maintained that the rules did not permit such a motion in this case.
Despite Daimary’s ruling, AIUDF legislators continued their protest, leading to a temporary adjournment of the House. When the session resumed, the opposition members persisted with their demand, prompting Deputy Speaker Numal Momin—who had taken over the proceedings—to urge them to raise the issue under relevant provisions. As the AIUDF MLAs refused to relent, Momin ordered a 10-minute suspension of the entire opposition bench.
“The AIUDF MLAs are suspended for 10 minutes. We can’t adjourn the House again and again as it is run on taxpayers’ money,” Momin declared, bringing temporary order to the proceedings.
The incident highlights the growing tensions in the assembly over political and communal sensitivities, with the opposition accusing the government of targeting specific communities while the ruling bench maintains that rules must be followed in legislative proceedings.