PAKISTAN OBSERVER
6th August 1955
Assembly Meets 15 Months After Election
Floods & Prisoners’ Issues Discussed: House Prorogued
ABDUL HAKIM (U.F.) ELECTED SPEAKER
BYA STAFF REPORTER
THE EAST BENGAL LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY IN ITS FIRST SESSION LASTING OVER EIGHT HOURS ON FRIDAY ELECTED MR. ABDUL HAKEEM (U.F) AND MR. SHAHED ALI (U.F) SPEAKER AND DEPUTY SPEAKER RESPECTIVELY OF THE HOUSE.
MR. ABDUL HAKEEM SECURED 187 VOTES AS AGAINST 32 SECURED BY THE AWAMI LEAGUE CANDIDATE, MR. MASIHUR RAHMAN. THE DEPUTY SPEAKER, MR. SHAHED ALI, SECURED 170 VOTES WHILE MRS. BADRUNESSA (AWAMI LEAGUE), THE OTHER CANDIDATE GOT 99 VOTES.
Mr. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (Awami Legaue) submitted that the question of the release of political prisoners was of political importance and should be discussed before the House had transacted any business and added that some of his party members had failed to attend the session due to the disruption in the surface communications caused by the floods and alleged that no arrangement had been made by the Government to enable them to arrive in Dacca.
The chairman pointed out again that the questions raised by Mr. Rahman would be taken up by the Speaker to be elected and ordered to proceed with the election of the new Speaker. The new Speaker after being elected took his seat and Mr. Fazlul Huq, after he offered his congratulations, left the Speaker’s chair. Then followed a series of congratulations and felicitations. East Bengal Chief Minister, Mr. Abu Hussain Sarker, the Opposition leader Mr. Ataur Rahman Khan, Mr. Mashihur Rahman, Mr. Basanta Kumar Das, Mr. Dhirendra Nath Dutta (UPPP), Begum Nurjahan Murshed, Selina Begum and Mr. Abdus Salam Khan greeted the new Speaker and demanded of him honest and impartial discharge of his duties and thereby help establish democracy in the country.