NEW DELHI: Department-related standing committees of Parliament were announced on Thursday. The Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) B Mahtab will now helm the panel on finance.
Crucial committees of external affairs will be chaired by Congress‘ Shashi Tharoor and home will be lead by BJP’s Radha Mohan Das Agarwal.
Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, is a member of the committee on defence.The name of Sonia Gandhi, the UPA chairperson, does not appear in any of the committees.
BJP’s Radha Mohan Singh will head the defence committee. Sunil Tatkare, the lone NCP Lok Sabha member, will be heading the panel on Petroleum and Natural Gas, while Shrirang Appa Barne of the Shiv Sena will lead the committee on energy.
Former minister Anurag Thakur also found a position and will chair parliamentary panel on coal, mines and steel. Committee on education will be led by Congress’ Digvijay Singh.
One committee each will be headed by major BJP allies such as the TDP and Janata Dal (United), as well as its partners in the poll-bound Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena and the NCP.
The committee on transport, tourism and culture will be headed by Sanjay Jha of the JD(U), while the committee on Housing and Urban Affairs will be chaired by Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy of the TDP.
The Parliament standing committee is a panel of MPs that considers bills and issues, and recommends measures for the House to consider. Standing committees are established according to the provisions of an Act of Parliament or the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business.