Assam Legislative Assembly Begins First Session Of 16th House With Grand Ceremony

Guwahati: The first session of the Assam Legislative Assembly began on Thursday, marking the start of the 16th Assembly. The session will be held from May 21 to May 26.

The first session of the Assam Legislative Assembly began on Thursday, marking the start of the 16th Assembly. The session will be held from May 21 to May 26.

The session began with Vande Mataram, followed by the National Anthem Jana Gana Mana and the Assam State Anthem O Mur Apunar Desh, creating a formal atmosphere in the House.

Pro-tem Speaker veteran legislature Chandra Mohan Patowary chaired the proceedings and administered the oath to the newly elected MLAs.

Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma was the first to take the oath. He was followed by Minister Rameswar Teli, Minister Atul Bora, Minister Charan Bodo, and Ajanta Neog.

Minister Chandra Bodo took the oath in the Bodo language while Jayanta Malla Baruah, Bimal Borah, Vijay Gupta, Dr Milon Das etc took his oath in Sanskrit.

In a notable step, the Assembly allowed tribal MLAs to take the oath in their own languages. This was done following a request by the Chief Minister. The Pro-tem Speaker informed the House that members from communities such as Karbi, Rava and Koch-Rajbongshi would be allowed to take their oath in their respective languages.

However, MLAs choosing to take the oath in their own language have been asked to submit a written copy of the oath to the Speaker in advance.

Subsequently, MLAs from various political parties, including the BJP, Congress, and TMC, took their oath of office. The Congress Party has not decided their ledaer of legislative party till now. The newly elected members took oath in Assamese, Bodo, Bengali, Hindi, English, Karbi, Rava, Koch Rajbongshi proved the unity in diversity only.

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The opening day of the session saw smooth proceedings as the newly elected representatives formally began their roles in the Assembly.

Senior MLA and former minister and former Assam BJP president Ranjit Kumar Das was elected unopposed as the Speaker of the 16th Assam Legislative Assembly.

After the announcement, Pro-tem Speaker Chandra Mohan Patowary stepped down from his temporary role and handed over the responsibility of conducting the House proceedings to the newly elected Speaker.

Ranjit Kumar Das has previously served as Speaker of the Assam Legislative Assembly during the Sarbananda Sonowal-led government, holding the post from 2016 to 2017 and gaining prior experience in presiding over the House