BJP MPs replace Cong leaders as heads of two House panels

New Delhi, September 13

The government on Friday night announced the much-awaited parliamentary committees with Opposition Congress losing chairmanship of key panels of the Lok Sabha — finance and external affairs.

BJP member PP Chaudhary will head the department-related standing committee on external affairs which was previously headed by Congress’ Shashi Tharoor. The committee on finance will be chaired by former MoS Finance Jayant Sinha instead of Congress’ Veerappa Moily.

Of a total of 23 committees, eight are department-related committees of the Rajya Sabha and the rest are of the Lok Sabha.

Congress veterans and former ministers Anand Sharma and Jairam Ramesh will head the committees (Rajya Sabha) on home and science and environment, respectively, while K Kanimozhi of the DMK has got the headship of the panel on chemicals and fertilisers.

In the major committees of Lok Sabha, former tribal minister Jual Oram has been named the head of defence panel while TMC leader Sudeep Bandopadhyay will head the committee on public distribution.

IT panel will be headed by Congress’ Shashi Tharoor; BJD’s Bhartruhari Mathab will chair labour committee and former minister Radha Mohan Singh will chair the panel on railways.

Congress MP Tharoor later tweeted, “It’s official: Govt has decided to end the tradition of the leading Opposition party chairing the External Affairs Committee. Apparently a BJP MP will now hold the BJP Govt accountable instead. One more blow to our soft power, image & international reputation as a mature democracy.” — TNS