All-Party Committee yet to submit report on Namaz room allocation in Jharkhand Assembly dispute

Ranchi: The all-party committee established to address the controversy surrounding the allocation of a Namaz room in the Jharkhand Assembly has not yet submitted its report, according to an affidavit filed by Deputy Secretary of the Jharkhand Assembly, Naveen Kumar. The committee was formed on September 13, 2021, in response to the Speaker of the Assembly’s directive.

The affidavit also addresses whether other state assemblies have designated spaces for prayer. The formation of the committee followed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Ajay Kumar Modi in the Jharkhand High Court, raising concerns about the absence of a designated Namaz room in the State Assembly. The issue also led to commotion within the House.

During the court proceedings, the Assembly was instructed to file an affidavit. In response, the Assembly submitted an affidavit stating that a seven-member all-party committee, convened by JMM MLA Stephen Marandi, had been formed to resolve the dispute over the Namaz room. The committee, consisting of Pradeep Yadav, Neelkanth Singh Munda, Dr. Sarfaraz Ahmed, ML MLA Vinod Singh, AJSU MLA Lambodar Mahato, and Deepika Pandey Singh, is currently deliberating on the matter.

The Namaz room allocation issue in the Jharkhand Assembly has been a subject of legal scrutiny and public debate, and the committee’s report is awaited to provide clarity on the resolution of the dispute.