Congress May Get Key Parliamentary Panel For External Affairs As Centre Tries To Accommodate Opposition – News18

Three months after the new government was sworn in, who will chair which parliamentary standing committee still remains an issue. While the Congress has demanded a total of six committees, it is likely to get three in the Lok Sabha and one in the Rajya Sabha even as the BJP-led Centre mulls over accommodating other opposition parties like the Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party and DMK.

The BJP is also likely to accommodate NDA allies. Its biggest ally, the N Chandrababu Naidu-led Telugu Desam Party (TDP), may get the standing committee for urban affairs. The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, meanwhile, could get the committee for renewable energy.

The Congress has nominated Gaurav Gogoi, K Suresh and Jairam Ramesh to negotiate on the matter of standing committees. The party won 99 seats in the recently held Lok Sabha elections, but its current strength stands at 97 after Rahul Gandhi resigned from the Wayanad seat and the Nanded MP died.

According to the party’s calculation, it is entitled to chair at least three committees in the Lok Sabha and one in the Rajya Sabha but it has demanded six committees. These include key committees like finance and external affairs in the Lok Sabha, and the home committee in the Rajya Sabha.

Top government sources said despite a demand from the Congress for six committees, the Centre is likely to give it three in the Lok Sabha and one in the Rajya Sabha. “The Congress has demanded the finance committee, but they already have PAC (Public Accounts Committee) so they cannot be given another finance committee,” a source said.

CNN-News18 has learnt through reliable sources that the Congress is likely to get the external affairs committee. The party has indicated that it will like to appoint Shashi Tharoor as the chairperson of this panel. Sources said the party’s demand for home and defence committees has been ruled out.

Unlike last time, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) will also be offered a standing committee. It is likely that the Mamata Banerjee-led party will get the committee on railways or food processing.

There has been a bitter political exchange between the BJP and TMC over the ruling party in West Bengal not being given a single committee. The example was cited by then leader of the BJP in the Rajya Sabha, Piyush Goyal that despite being the principal opposition party in Bengal, the state government did not get any committee. But, this time, it is likely that the party will have at least one.

It has been learnt that the Samajwadi Party (SP), which has 37 MPs in the Lok Sabha, has hinted for a committee in the Rajya Sabha for one of its senior-most leaders Ram Gopal Yadav. He has previously chaired the committee for health. The Akhilesh Yadav-led party may be offered either health or education.

Sources further said the government is likely to give an important committee to the DMK, both in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.

The Congress had the committee for environment in the Rajya Sabha, where Jairam Ramesh was the chairperson. Dr Abhishek Manu Singhvi was also made the head of the committee for commerce. At the beginning of the previous Lok Sabha, Tharoor was the chairperson of this panel, but due to his war of words with BJP MPs on different issues, he was made the chair for the committee on chemicals and fertilisers.

The DMK had one committee in the Lok Sabha and one in the Rajya Sabha. Kanimozhi was heading the committee for rural development while Tiruchi Siva was heading the committee for industries. The SP’s Yadav was given the health committee, which is in the Rajya Sabha, and subsequently, he made way for the BJP to give the committee to Bhubaneswar Kalita.

With the inception of the new Lok Sabha, the term of the new committees is said to begin on September 1. Earlier, Parliament had made the announcement about the finance committees, with the crucial PAC going to the Congress with general secretary KC Venugopal as its chairman.

The Lok Sabha has 16 parliamentary standing committees while the Rajya Sabha has eight. Led by parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju, the government has held a few rounds of talks with opposition parties over the matter. Only recently, TMC MP Derek O’Brien wrote to the Rajya Sabha chairperson questioning the delay in naming the committees.

On this, Rijiju said: “We are going as per the convention, and we have not broken any rules. The normal time for appointing the committees and its chairperson is end of September. As of now, we are still receiving names from various parties for their MPs to become members of various committees. The opposite parties must complain if we do not release the list of committees by September. Our exercise is well on track, and we will soon be releasing the name of members of the committees and also its chairmen.”