The Centre is all set to recommend the constitution of department-related standing committees of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha to the Speaker and Chairman respectively, even as its standoff continues with the Trinamool Congress over the delay — and possible sidelining — in the process.
The Congress, which is the principal opposition party, has given its names for the post of chairman for the four committees that they are entitled to. This includes three committees in the Lok Sabha, where the Congress strength currently is at 97, and one committee in the Rajya Sabha. In principle, the other opposition parties have also agreed to the chairmanship that has been offered to them, given the strength of their respective parties.
However, the cold war between the government and TMC persists, with sources telling CNN-News18 that the latter has not yet responded to the offers made to them by the government. While the party’s top leaders, including Derek O’Brien and Sudip Bandopadhyay, maintain that they have received no communication from the Centre, government sources said the leaders have, in fact, not responded to the offers so far.
It is also learnt through top sources in the Lok Sabha Secretariat that the office of the Lok Sabha Speaker has been unable to establish contact with member of the house and senior MP Sudip Bandopadhyay. “We have been told that Bandopadhyay is currently travelling out of the country, and that is possibly the reason he hasn’t responded to us,” a source in the Lok Sabha secretariat told CNN-News18.
Earlier, O’Brien had written a letter to Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, expressing displeasure over the delay in naming the committees.
Speaking to the media on Wednesday on the sidelines of an event, parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju said: “There is no delay in the formation of committees. We have got cooperation from all political parties, except one. As the government, our job is to assist the offices of the Lok Sabha Speaker and Rajya Sabha Chairman. We have forwarded the names sent to us by these political parties. The forming of the committees and the naming of the chairman for the same is the domain of presiding officers.”
Government sources have also told CNN-News18 that the TMC was offered the committee for chemicals and fertilisers in the Lok Sabha and the committee for commerce in the Rajya Sabha.
The Trinamool and BJP have been embroiled in a bitter battle in Bengal, with the saffron party upping the ante against the state government for its failure to act in the RG Kar rape and murder case. Since 2014, when the BJP was able to win just two Lok Sabha seats, to 2019, when it won a whopping 18 seats, the BJP is giving the TMC a run for its money. It also secured 75 seats in the 2021 assembly polls and is currently the principal opposition party in the state assembly.
The TMC is also still smarting over being left in the cold in 2019 when, despite having substantial numbers in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, it was not given the chairmanship of any committee.
Though the official announcement is still to come, sources said every opposition party had been accommodated by the government according to the numbers they have to substantiate their claims for getting chairmanship of standing committees.
A committee on external affairs is likely to be headed by former external affairs minister Dr Shashi Tharoor of the Congress. The party is also likely to make former Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi the chairman of the committee for agriculture, animal husbandry, and food processing. Sources also said the chairmanship of the committee for rural development and panchayati raj will also go to the Congress. Given the numbers in the Rajya Sabha, the party will also get the chairmanship of the committee on education, likely to be headed by Dr Abhishek Manu Singhvi.
According to the sources, another opposition party, DMK, will get the chairmanship of the committee for industries in the Rajya Sabha and the committee for consumer affairs, food, and public distribution in the Lok Sabha.
The Samajwadi Party, which has a significant presence in the Lok Sabha, had already indicated to the government that it would like to head a committee in the Rajya Sabha where senior Member of Parliament Ram Gopal Yadav would be accommodated. Sources say Yadav would return to the committee for health and family welfare, which he also headed previously.
Apart from this, the BJP-led NDA will also give representation to key allies, say sources. According to them, the TDP will be given the chairmanship of the committee on housing and urban affairs, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena will head the committee on energy, while the JD(U) will lead the committee on transport, tourism and culture.
Once again, crucial committees like finance, home, and defence will stay with the BJP, say sources. They added that senior Member of Parliament Bhartruhari Mahtab is likely to chair the finance committee.
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