Guwahati, June 1 (IANS) Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and other newly elected candidates took oath as members of the Assam assembly on Wednesday, the first day of the three-day session of the house.
Senior Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) leader and Pro-tem Speaker Phani Bhushan Choudhury administered the oath to the members. Choudhury was sworn-in as the pro-tem speaker by Governor P.B. Acharya on May 28.
After the newly elected members took their oath and the house was constituted, BJP legislator from Sarbhog constituency Ranjit Kumar Das was unanimously elected as the speaker.
Sonowal lauded the speaker as highly efficient politician and hoped that his vast experience and expertise will help him infuse a new dynamism into the assembly's functioning.
"The MLAs have all gathered in the august house in the greater interest of the people. The people have reposed faith and trust in them by electing them and it is their bounden duty to work in public interests," the chief minister said.
He appealed to all legislators to work in unison in the assembly to maintain its sacroscant status.
"The unanimous election of the speaker stands testimony to the quintessential essence of democracy. It is on the basis of this cardinal principle that all members of the Assam assembly must work unitedly for the peoples of Barak-Brahmaputra valleys and plains-hills," Sonowal said.
Thursday's agenda of the session includes the Governor's address and election of the deputy speaker.
