Abdul Rahim Rather elected LA Speaker

Srinagar, Nov 4: National Conference (NC) leader and seven-time MLA from Charar-e-Sharief Abdul Rahim Rather was on Monday unanimously elected as the first Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory.

He was elected as Speaker of the House after Minister for Agriculture Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Cooperative, and Election, Javed Ahmad Dar, moved a motion nominating Rather for the post of Speaker.

NC’s MLA Ramban, Arjun Singh Raju seconded the motion on the first day of the session.

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, People’s Conference MLA from Handwara, Sajad Lone and PDP’s MLA, Waheed-ur-Rehman Para from Pulwama congratulated Abdul Rahim Rather on assuming the chair of the Speaker.