AGP MLA Phani Bhushan sworn in pro-tem speaker; 3-day Assam Assembly session from Friday

Guwahati, May 19: Former minister and AGP MLA Phani Bhushan Choudhury was on Wednesday sworn in as the pro-tem speaker of 15th Assam Legislative Assembly. In absence of Governor Jagdish Mukhi, the State Chief Secretary Jishnu Barua administered the oath of office and secrecy to Choudhury at Janata Bhawan, the secretariat complex.

Choudhury is an eight-time MLA from Bongaigaon constituency and was a minister in the last BJP-led Assam government. Mukhi has convened the Assam Assembly on May 21 for the first session of the BJP-AGP-UPPL government, headed by Himanta Biswa Sarma.

"We will hold the three-day session following all COVID- 19 protocols. On the first day, we will administer the oath to the elected members," Choudhury told reporters here.

Jailed anti-CAA activist Akhil Gogoi will be the first ever MLA in the state to be sworn in while being in jail, he added. "The court has permitted him to take oath and it will be done as per Home Department directives. He will be brought in by jail authorities and will leave after the oath taking ceremony," the pro-tem speaker said.

In the 126-member Assembly, the NDA secured 75 seats. The Congress-led Grand Alliance bagged 50 seats and one was won by an Independent. - PTI