Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma criticized senior RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Saturday for his comments regarding the namaz break policy, suggesting Yadav should implement his own advice before offering it to others. Sarma made these remarks during a press briefing at the BJP headquarters, where former JMM leader Lobin Hembrom joined the party.
Sarma questioned Yadav’s stance, asking if such a practice existed in Bihar and suggesting that Yadav should have introduced a four-hour break when he served as Bihar’s deputy chief minister. “You should practice what you preach,” Sarma remarked.
Yadav had accused Sarma of seeking “cheap popularity” after the Assam assembly abolished a two-hour break for Jumma prayers. In response, Sarma stated, “I will reinstate the two-hour Jumma break if those advising me first implement a four-hour break in their states.”
Sarma further pointed out that the practice, which dates back to the British era in 1937, does not exist anywhere else, including in the Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha, apart from the Assam assembly. He clarified that the decision to remove the two-hour break was not solely his but was made collectively by Hindu and Muslim legislators. He noted that when the Assembly Speaker announced the decision, none of the 25 Muslim MLAs in the 126-member Assam assembly objected.
The decision to eliminate this provision from the assembly’s Rules of Procedure was unanimously agreed upon by the Rules Committee, headed by the Speaker, Sarma added. He emphasized that criticism of the decision is coming from outside Assam, while local legislators are committed to the state’s development.