Congress secures chairs for four parliamentary standing committees following negotiations with government
- In Reports
- 12:55 PM, Sep 16, 2024
- Myind Staff
The negotiations between the government and the Opposition over Parliamentary Standing Committees have concluded, with the Congress securing chair positions for three committees in the Lok Sabha and one in the Rajya Sabha. According to sources, the Congress will head the External Affairs Standing Committee, the Standing Committee on Agriculture, and the Standing Committee on Rural Development in the Lok Sabha. In the Rajya Sabha, the party will chair the Standing Committee on Education.
Negotiations between the government and the Opposition had been ongoing for several months. Initially, the Congress sought chairs for five Parliamentary Standing Committees—four in the Lok Sabha and one in the Rajya Sabha. Additionally, key Opposition allies like the Samajwadi Party, DMK, and AITC are also expected to secure chairmanships for one committee each. For the Rajya Sabha, Congress had lobbied for the chair of the influential Committee on Home Affairs.
Several rounds of discussions between government representatives and Opposition members took place before the allocation was finalised. Key figures in these talks included Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, Union Minister of State for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal, Congress Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi, and party chief whips Kodikunnil Suresh and Jairam Ramesh.
Earlier, on August 16, five parliamentary committees were constituted. Congress MP and general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal was named chairperson of the Committee on Public Accounts, a position traditionally given to the Opposition. Other committees formed include the Committee on Welfare of Other Backward Classes, chaired by BJP’s Ganesh Singh, the Committee of Estimates, chaired by Sanjay Jaiswal (BJP), the Committee on Public Undertakings, chaired by Baijayant Panda (BJP), and the Committee on Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, headed by Faggan Singh Kulaste (BJP).
On August 27, All India Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’Brien wrote to the Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha J P Nadda, expressing concern over the delay in the reconstitution of department-related Parliamentary Standing Committees (DPSCs). O’Brien emphasised that the delay impacted the democratic process and the quality of legislation.
In the previous Lok Sabha, when Congress had 53 members, the party held the chairmanship of only one committee. However, with the current tally of 99 members in the Lok Sabha, Congress has now secured more significant representation. Other Opposition parties like the Samajwadi Party (37 members), TMC (29), and DMK (22) are also expected to gain chairs on the House committees.
Image source: Indian Express
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