Kolkata: in the latest restructuring Of the parliamentary committees announced on Tuesday, opposition parties Congress and Trinamool Congress (TMC) were dropped from chairing key panels, leaving the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies to head six major panels – home affairs, information technology, left on top. Defence, Health and Family Welfare, External Affairs and Finance.
While the main opposition party, the Congress, retained the chairmanship of a panel – Science and Technology, Environment and Forests – the second largest opposition party, the TMC, got none.
The Trinamool lost the key food and consumer affairs panel, now headed by BJP MP Locket Chatterjee.
Congress MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi has been replaced by BJP MP Brij Lal as the new chairman of the Home Affairs Panel. Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena camp MP Prataprao Jadhav is the new chairman of the IT panel, replacing Congress MP Shashi Tharoor.
The reorganization has drawn sharp criticism from the opposition.
Speaking to ThePrint, Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said that the government is uncomfortable with the issues being raised in the standing committees and hence, this reorganization was done to stifle their voices to eliminate opposition from key positions.
“While there is no rule that opposition leaders should be at the top of the panel, it is a well-established convention in our parliamentary norms. Since the time allotted during sessions is insufficient, standing committees are mini-parliaments in which all policies are scrutinised. Now the opposition has been deliberately driven out and wiped out. I have written to the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs [V. Muraleedharan] about this,” he said.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh was re-appointed as the chairman of the Committee on Science and Technology, Environment and Forests. TMC’s Derek O’Brien will be on the home panel along with Congress’ Digvijay Singh, and Janata Dal (Secular) leader HD Deve Gowda will be on the water resources committee.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will be part of the defense panel headed by BJP’s Jual Oram, while senior Congress MPs P. Chidambaram and Manmohan Singh will be in the finance panel, headed by BJP’s Jayant Sinha. BJP’s PP Choudhary tops the foreign affairs panel.
At the same time, Mallikarjun Kharge of Congress, leading the race For the party’s presidential elections, none of the 22 panels have been elected.
The health and family welfare panel, which was earlier headed by Samajwadi Party’s Ram Gopal Yadav, will now be headed by BJP’s Bhubaneshwar Kalita.
‘politically motivated’
Notably, the Congress has 31 MPs in the 245-member Rajya Sabha and 53 in the 543-member Lok Sabha, making it the major opposition party and the TMC with its 13 MPs in the Upper House and 23 in the Lower House. is on. Largest opposition party.
Congress sources told ThePrint that he has been offered the Chemicals and Fertilizers panel, but is yet to pick an MP for the chair after losing two key IT and Home Affairs panels.
“The backbone of the most important committees has been broken,” Chowdhury said.
TMC Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Shekhar Ray told ThePrint, “This is absolutely unprecedented and it shows the arbitrariness of officials who have deliberately denied TMC to head any standing committee. It is also politically motivated.”
TMC sources said, the decision to mark any protest against the move will be taken by the party and cannot be disclosed at this time.
Soon after the announcement, TMC Parliamentary Leader in Rajya Sabha Derek O’Brien took Twitter To express your disappointment. “AITC, the third largest party and the second largest opposition party, does not get a single president. Also, the largest opposition party loses two important presidents. This is the bitter reality of New India.”
Later, while talking to ThePrint, he said, “Parliament is being weakened by M/s. [Narendra] Modi and [Amit] Shah differently, this is just one example. There are countless more.”
Another TMC MP Sushmita Dev said it sets a bad precedent. “Standing committees monitor government policies and act as the voice of various stakeholders. Opposition parties to play an active role not only as members but also as Speaker,” she wrote Twitter,
BJP MP Locket Chatterjee, who is now in charge of the food and consumer panel, however, said the TMC needs to make its home before criticizing the reorganisation.
“In the Bengal Vidhan Sabha (state assembly), the TMC has strangled the opposition. The BJP was denied the post of chairman of the Public Accounts Committees. Speaking against the reshuffle does not suit TMC. It needs to make its home, especially after the school service recruitment scam. Following the protocol, the panel was reconstituted and deserving MPs were given the chair.
(Edited by Anumeha Saxena)
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