The announcement of permanent parliamentary committees was made on Thursday, appointing leaders from various parties to key responsibilities. BJP member B. Mahatab has been named chair of the finance committee, a significant position. Congress leader Shashi Tharoor will lead the foreign affairs committee, while the home affairs committee will be chaired by BJP’s Radha Mohan Das Agrawal. Notably, Rahul Gandhi has been appointed as a member of the defense committee, and actress Kangana Ranaut will also serve on the communications and IT committee. In total, 24 permanent committees have been formed in the parliament.
These committees function as miniature parliaments, providing oversight on the operations of various ministries. The Rajya Sabha Secretariat issued a notification detailing the committee appointments. It noted that the parliamentary committee on defense will be chaired by former central minister Radha Mohan Singh, while the home affairs committee will be led by BJP’s Radha Mohan Das Agrawal.
Interestingly, Congress veteran Sonia Gandhi was not named to any committee. Apart from key BJP allies like the Telugu Desam Party and Janata Dal (United), regional parties such as Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) will each head one committee. NCP’s sole Lok Sabha member, Sunil Tatkare, will chair the committee on petroleum and natural gas, while Shiv Sena’s Shrirang Appa Barane will lead the energy parliamentary committee. The education committee will be overseen by Congress leader Digvijaya Singh.
Sanjay Jha from Janata Dal (United) will head the transport, tourism, and culture committee, whereas Telugu Desam Party’s Magunta Srinivasaulu Reddy will chair the housing and urban affairs committee. Congress members Charanjit Singh Channi and Saptagiri Ulaka have been appointed to lead the committees on agriculture, animal husbandry, food processing, and rural development and panchayati raj, respectively. From the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Tiruchi Siva and Kanimozhi will chair the industry and consumer affairs, and food and public distribution committees, respectively.
Out of the 24 committees, 11 are chaired by BJP members, while four are led by its allies. Congress leaders will oversee four committees, followed by two each from DMK and Trinamool Congress, and one by a member of the Samajwadi Party.
Former central ministers Anurag Thakur and Rajiv Pratap Rudy have been assigned to chair the coal, mines, and steel, and water resources committees, respectively. BJP member Nishikant Dubey has been named chair of the communications and IT parliamentary committee, with Kangana Ranaut also serving as a member. The health committee will be led by Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav, while Trinamool Congress members Dola Sen and Kirti Azad will oversee the commerce and chemicals and fertilizers committees, respectively.
The committee on personnel, public grievances, law, and justice will be chaired by BJP’s Brijlal. Former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and the Chairman of the Bar Council of India, Manan Mishra, are members of this committee. BJP members Bhubaneswar Kalita and Basavaraj Bommai will chair the committees on science and technology, environment, forests and climate change, and labor issues. The social justice and empowerment committee will be led by BJP’s P.C. Mohan, while the railway committee will be chaired by C.M. Ramesh.
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