Congress leader Shashi Tharoor will continue to chair the parliamentary panel on Information Technology. In addition, while former Union minister and Akali Dal MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal, who recently resigned from the Union Cabinet in protest against the agriculture bills, has also found a place as a member of the Panel on External Affairs, several others Congress leaders who were critical of the government have also been retained as chairman of their respective parliamentary panels.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, in consultation with Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu, on Tuesday announced the formation of several reconstituted parliamentary standing committees.
Tharoor, whose decision to summon Facebook officials and suspend 4G internet services in Jammu and Kashmir had drawn criticism from BJP members of the committee, some of whom also demanded his removal.
Congress leader Anand Sharma will continue to chair the parliamentary panel on home affairs and Jairam Ramesh will continue to head the panel on environment and science and technology.
The chairpersons of all parliamentary standing committees have been retained.
YSR Congress’s Vijayasai Reddy has been nominated to Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce, Samajwadi Party’s Ram Gopal Yadav for Health, TRS’s K Keshava Rao of Industries, TMC’s Sudip Bandyopadhyay of Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution, BJD’s Bhartrihari Mahtab, Labor chairman. has been re-appointed as
DMK’s Kanimozhi will continue to head the panel on chemicals and fertilisers, and JD(U)’s Rajeev Ranjan Singh will head the panel on energy.
All the remaining chairpersons of the parliamentary standing committees, most of whom are from the BJP, have also not been changed.
Sources said that out of 237 Rajya Sabha members nominated by Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu on the reconstituted 24 DRSCs for 2021-22, 50 have been converted into new committees and these 50 include 28 whose meetings of committees were held during 2020-21. I had poor attendance. .
Naidu asked Sushil Kumar Modi to be considered from the Science and Technology and Urban Development Committees after Bhupendra Yadav became the Personnel, Public Grievances and Law and Justice (PPG) with suggestions to consider attendance while recommending members on 24 DRSCs of Parliament. transferred as Chairman. Minister.
Chhaya Verma has been transferred from Agriculture to Social Justice and Empowerment, Prof Manoj Kumar Jha from Railways to Labour, Shaktisinh Gohil from IT to Transport and Sasmit Patra from Education to PPG, Abhishek Manu Singhvi from Defense to Home, while Derek O Ko ‘Bryan Transport to Home, Indu Bala Goswami from Health to Science and Technology while Mausam Noor from Commerce to Water Resources. Sources in the RS Secretariat said that Mary Kom has been shifted from Food to Urban Development. Each committee consists of 11 members from Rajya Sabha and 20 members from Lok Sabha.
Sources said attendance-based enrollment and changes could have been higher but some leaders believed that last year’s low attendance was due to Covid and state elections. Most of the 50 changes were suggested only by the parties concerned, nine by the BJP, six by the TMC, four by the Congress, while three each by Shiv Sena, CPM, RJD, YSRCP and DMK, BJD and TRS. Two each and each had made 1 change. among other parties.
The three Shiv Sena members, who have the best attendance record, have been transferred to new committees. From defense to abroad, Sanjay Raut to coal and steel, Anil Desai to commerce and Priyanka Chaturvedi to commerce to transport, tourism and culture.