Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma today introduced the Assam Prohibition of Polygamy Bill, 2025 in the state Assembly, taking a significant step toward outlawing polygamy in the state. The bill was presented with the permission of Speaker Biswajit Daimary on the first day of the Winter Session.
The presentation of the bill, however, took place in the absence of several Opposition MLAs. Members of Congress, CPI(M), and Raijor Dal walked out of the House shortly before the bill was tabled. The walkout came following a discussion in the Assembly on the death of popular singer Zubeen Garg. The Chief Minister’s office stated that the bill will be taken up for discussion and possible passage at a later date.
Alongside the bill, Chief Minister Sarma also laid the report of the Justice (retd) T.U. Mehta Commission before the Assembly. The commission was set up to examine the large-scale violence that occurred during the 1983 Assembly elections. The Mehta Commission was constituted by Mukti Jujaru Sanmilan and other agitators of the Assam Movement to investigate incidents that took place during the anti-influx agitation from 1979 to 1985. This period saw some of the most violent episodes in Assam’s history, including the Nellie massacre in February 1983, where over 2,100 people lost their lives in a single night. No discussion on the Mehta Commission report took place after it was tabled in the House. 
In addition, the government circulated printed copies of the Tewary Commission report. Headed by retired IAS officer T.P. Tewary, the commission investigated the 1983 disturbances and the Nellie massacre. It was set up on July 14, 1983, and submitted its final report to the Congress government in May 1984. The report was later tabled in the Assembly by the AGP government in 1987. Chief Minister Sarma noted that despite being tabled decades ago, the report had not been made accessible to MLAs, with only one copy kept with the Speaker. A recent Cabinet decision directed that both hard and digital copies be distributed during the Winter Session to ensure wider access. The government clarified that no discussion on the Tewary Commission report will take place in the House.
