Date:30/05/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/05/30/stories/2006053014070500.htm

Other States - Assam

New Assam Speaker elected

Special Correspondent

Election of Deputy Speaker scheduled for Wednesday

All MLAs except an AGP member take oath
Mr. Rai elected unopposed

Members of the House who took oath included six former militants

Guwahati: Congress nominee Tanka Bahadur Rai was elected unopposed as Speaker of the 12th Assam Assembly on Monday. Mr. Rai was Deputy Speaker in the last Assembly. The Opposition did not put up any candidate. Immediately after his election Mr. Rai was led to the Chair by Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and the Leader of the Opposition, Brindaban Goswami.

Mr. Rai was formally greeted by leaders of all parties as well as Independents. The election of Deputy Speaker is scheduled to take place on Wednesday and the Opposition parties are yet to announce if they would put up any candidate.

The Speaker's election was preceded by administering of oath to the newly elected members by pro tem Speaker G.C. Langthasa. AGP member Pradip Hazarika who was shot and injured by militants of the United Liberation Front of Asom could not take oath as he is in hospital.

Members of the 12th Assembly who took oath included six former militants, four of them former rebels of the erstwhile Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT) and two former ULFA rebels. For the first time, the Assembly has a father and son as members — Excise and Border Areas Minister Gautom Roy and his son Rahul Roy.