Assam Speaker Bans Public Use of Expunged Assembly Remarks

Guwahati: Assam Assembly Speaker Ranjeet Kumar Dass issued a stern warning to legislators on July 7. He barred members from quoting or referencing any remarks that have been removed from the official Assembly record. The directive follows heated exchanges between the ruling and opposition benches during the current Budget Session.

Dass clamped down on the practice after an opposition MLA targeted Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma with comments that were later struck from the record. The Speaker made his stance clear during the second day of the session. "What has been expunged from proceedings, no one can quote it outside the House. Even the media cannot repeat it," Dass said.

The Speaker also pushed for higher productivity. He instructed ministers to trim their answers during Question Hour. He now allows supplementary questions to be grouped together to save time. This ensures more issues get a hearing before the clock runs out.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pijush Hazarika floated a plan to silence MLAs on the Assembly grounds. He wanted to force members to hold protests at the Chachal site in Guwahati instead of talking to the press inside the building. Speaker Dass shot the idea down. He refused to violate the freedom of speech. Congress MLA Abdur Rahim Ahmed backed this, calling for organized debates that prioritize opposition voices.