Mubashir Aalam Wani
Srinagar, Nov 4: Veteran National Conference leader and seven-time MLA, Abdul Rahim Rather was Monday unanimously elected as Speaker of the first Assembly of Jammu & Kashmir Union Territory.
As soon as House assembled at 10: 30 am, 78-year-old Rather, who was served as minister in cabinets of Sheikh Abdullah, Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah, was elected as Speaker after Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Javaid Ahmad Dar moved a motion for choosing him as the Speaker. The motion was seconded by NC’s Ramban MLA, Arjun Singh Raju.
With opposition parties deciding against contesting the post, the pro-tem Speaker Mubarak Gul declared his election as the Speaker without putting the Motion to vote.
Soon after his election, Leader of House Omar Abdullah and Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma escorted him to the Speaker’s chair.
In his maiden speech, as Speaker of the House, Abdul Rahim Rather said “I assure the treasury and the opposition benches that they will be provided equal support and opportunities to raise the issues in the House. I will fulfill the role assigned to me in a very non-partisan and objective manner”.
Rahim Rather sought support from all MLAs in smooth functioning of the House. He said that he will try hard to fulfill the expectations of the MLAs while maintaining the dignity of the House and following the rule book.
“Our first job is to maintain the dignity of this House at all times under any circumstances. The sanctity of this House will ensure our dignity as well. We need active cooperation and support from all sides for smooth functioning of the House,” he maintained. He emphasised that people are looking up to the MLAs for resolution of their issues and they should try to fulfill the responsibilities that people have entrusted them with.
While calling for respecting people’s mandate, the Speaker said that the actions of the MLAs should align with the aspirations of the citizens as people have reposed faith in them through their vote.
The Speaker said the time of this House is precious and the members should use it judiciously and create a healthy atmosphere in running the business of the House. “We will have to judiciously use the time of this House and raise our voice in a very constructive and positive manner,” he added.
He said that actions and words of the members of the House should be governed by how much it will benefit the poorest man in their thoughts. He said that the members have a duty to hold the government accountable, but in doing so, one should not unnecessarily deride the ministers or the officers.
Rather said the Speaker is the custodian of the House and rights of the MLAs and he will go an extra mile in helping the legislators in making the government accountable.
The Speaker said that MLAs should understand the legislative process very well and according to its rules, they should maintain their language, behavior and correspondence with the Assembly Secretariat. He said that the Parliamentary rules and conventions should be strictly adhered to by all the members in the House and he will intervene, in case the need arises.
He said that he has been working with the National Conference from the last 50 years, but from now onwards he has no political affiliation and will prove by his actions that the House is run in an objective and neutral manner. “I will be taking dictation only from the rules”, asserted the Speaker.
