Srinagar, Nov 4 (Reporter) Veteran National Conference (NC) leader Abdul Rahim Rather was on Monday elected unopposed as the Speaker of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly. The seven time legislator from Charar-e-Sharief in Budgam district of Jammu and Kashmir, Rather was elected as Speaker soon after the Assembly met for its first session. Minister for Agriculture Production, Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Cooperative and Election Javaid Dar moved the motion in the house and NC legislator Arjun Singh seconded on the election of speaker. Rather, a former state finance minister also served in the Cabinets of both Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah. Except in 2014, Rather has won all polls from Charar-e-Sharief since 1977. In 2014, he lost to PDP general secretary Ghulam Nabi Lone Hanjura In his first address as Speaker, Rather urged members to uphold the sanctity and dignity of the house. “From today, I have no political party. I belong to all of you,” he assured the members, committing to neutrality. The Speaker highlighted the importance of time management and constructive discourse in the Assembly. He acknowledged the need to draft new rules for the reconstituted Assembly under the Reorganization Act but noted they could temporarily rely on modified rules from the previous Assembly...////...