Congress Deputy Leader in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi on Tuesday said the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) move was “draconian” after the Congress lost the chairmanship of the Parliamentary Committee on IT.
He alleged that the BJP was building the foundation of a surveillance state where citizens’ rights were subservient and institutional scrutiny was over. “A drastic step by the BJP. Prime Minister Modi seems to be influenced by the Chinese single-party regime and the Russian oligarchy model. He is building the foundation of a surveillance state where citizens’ rights are subservient and institutional scrutiny is over,” Gogoi tweeted.
There was a major reshuffle in the parliamentary panel on Tuesday as Congress lost the Home and important Information Technology and Communication panels.
According to an official notification, Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who headed the home panel, has been replaced by BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP and former Uttar Pradesh DGP Brijlal as the new president.
Another loss for the oldest party is for IT to lose the committee that was headed by Lok Sabha MP Dr Shashi Tharoor. Shiv Sena’s Eknath Shinde-led faction is now headed by three-time Lok Sabha MP Prataprao Jadhav.
The Standing Committee for Environment and Forests is currently with the Congress Party. Jairam Ramesh continues to be its chairman.
BJP MP Bhuvneshwar Kalita has been appointed in place of Samajwadi Party professor Ram Gopal Yadav, who has been the chairman of the health committee for a long time.
This would be a committee advantage for the DMK as the party has an industry committee headed by Tiruchi Siva.
The YSR Congress, which had done commerce earlier, has swapped heads with Vijayasai Reddy for the larger Transport, Tourism and Aviation Committee.
The panel on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports will now be headed by BJP MP Vivek Thakur, after the retirement of its former President Dr Vinay Shastrabuddhe.
Senior MP Jagdambika Pal is now the chairman of the energy panel while JD(U) leader Lallan Singh will head the urban development.
The Trinamool Congress which had a Speaker in the form of Lok Sabha MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay will not have any presidency.
A source familiar with the matter said, “We have seen how the Trinamool Congress has treated the BJP in West Bengal and now it is time to take a dose of their medicine as they reflect on their attitude towards the opposition in the state. I have been very cruel. Vikas told the news agency.
The Congress party is reportedly yet to announce the heads of two more panels, including commerce and chemical fertilisers, as the Congress party is yet to name its party MPs, according to sources.
With more than 100 Members of Parliament retiring from the Upper House recently, several vacancies were created in various committees apart from abolishing the terms of the Standing Committee.