Aminul Haque Laskar, the lone Muslim legislator from Bharatiya Janata Party in Assam, was on Wednesday elected unopposed to the post of deputy speaker of the state legislative assembly.
Speaker Hitendra Nath Goswami made the announcement during the ongoing session of the assembly.
Besides his own party, Laskar, who represents the Sonai constituency, had the support of Asom Gana Parishad and Bodo People’s Front, the two parties who are partners in the BJP-led ruling coalition in Assam.
The opposition parties including Congress and All India United Democratic Front did not name any candidate for the post which had become vacant after former deputy speaker Kripanath Mallah of the BJP won the Karimganj Lok Sabha seat.
“It is a big responsibility, more so, because the opposition parties didn’t name anyone to contest against me. I will be neutral and uphold dignity of the post,” Laskar said after his election.
Laskar had hit the headlines in June last year when he received a letter from an obscure organization along with two live bullets asking him to quit BJP within 15 days or face death.
