NEW DELHI: The Jammu and Kashmir assembly on Monday elected veteran National Conference leader and seven-time MLA Abdul Rahim Rather as its speaker as the first listed transaction of the business in the first session after a gap of six years.
Chief minister Omar Abdullah and protem speaker Mubarak Gul congratulated Rather as he took Chair in the House.
Abdullah said, "Honourable speaker, I would like to congratulate you on behalf of the whole House. You were probably the natural choice to take responsibility for this post. You have served the people by sometimes being in the party and sometimes by being in the opposition. Now, you are the custodian of the House."
The first session will conclude on November 8. Besides the L-G's address, there will be obituary references for former legislators who passed away since the last session of the erstwhile J-K Assembly on November 5.
The assembly will also hold a discussion on the Motion of Thanks on the L-G's address om November 6 and 7.
In the recently concluded Jammu and Kashmir assembly election, the National Conference-Congress alliance won 49 out of 90 seats. Meanwhile, BJP emerges as the largest opposition party with 29 seats.
The assembly election in the state were held after a gap of almost 10 years and since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019.