Senior National Conference (NC) leader and seven-time MLA Abdur Rahim Rather was on Monday elected unopposed as the Speaker of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly.
Rather was elected as Speaker soon after the Assembly met for its first session.
Minister for Agriculture Production, Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Cooperative and Election Javaid Dar moved the motion in the house and NC legislator Arjun Singh seconded on the election of speaker.
Rather, a former state finance minister also served in the Cabinets of both Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah. Except in 2014, Rather has won all polls from Charar-e-Sharief since 1977. In 2014, he lost to PDP general secretary Ghulam Nabi Lone Hanjura
Rather was elected as the speaker through a voice vote.
Pro-tem speaker, Mubarak Gul, conducted the session.
Leader of the House and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah congratulated Rather on his election as the Speaker of J&K LA since he was a "natural choice for the post due to his vast experience."
Leader of Opposition, Sunil Sharma, Congress MLA Ghulam Ahmad Mir, CPI(M) MLA from Kulgam, M Y Tarigami, Peoples' Conference MLA from Handwara, Sajad Lone and PDP's MLA, Waheed Ur Rehman Para from Pulwama also congratulated Rather on assuming the chair of the Speaker.
Addressing the House after tabling Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha’s address to the assembly, the Speaker expressed gratitude to the members of the assembly for electing him.
In his maiden speech as Speaker of the House, 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,".
He 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.
He 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 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 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.
Rather said 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.