BJP gains as Parliament reshuffles its panels

Days after the BJP and the Congress blamed each other for the delay in reconstituting Parliament’s Department-related Standing committees, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan announced the revamped panels here on Tuesday.

While the Congress has lost the Chairman’s post in the all-important Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice to the BJP, the ruling party gave the top position in Commerce panel to its ally Shiromani Akali Dal. BJP General Secretary Bhupendra Yadav replaced veteran Congress leader Anand Sharma as the Chairperson for the Law and Justice panel. Sharma will now head the panel on Science & Technology, Environment & Forests. It was earlier headed by Congress’ Renuka Chowdhury.

Sharad Yadav replaced The Committee on Commerce will be headed by Naresh Gujral of the SAD, replacing Bhupendra Yadav. JD(U)’s new leader in the Rajya Sabha Ram Chandra Prasad Singh will be the new Chairman of the Industries panel. He replaced his party’s rebel leader Sharad Yadav, who was removed by Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu after the JD(U) conveyed to him that Yadav was no more a member of the party.

Mukul Roy loses post Ousted Trinamool Congress leader Mukul Roy, who is hobnobbing with the BJP, lost the top post of the Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture. Trinamool’s leader in the Rajya Sabha Derek O’Brien has been appointed Chairperson of the Committee. The party has also retained the chairmanship of the Standing Committee of Railways. The Speaker has re-appointed Sudip Bandyopadhyay as its Chairman.

Congressmen helm top panels P Chidambaram and Shashi Tharoor continue be the chairpersons of the panels on home and external affairs respectively. Former Minister Veerappa Moily will continue to chair the high-profile Standing Committee on Finance that has finalised its discussions on the impact of demonetisation on economy.

Despite the turf war in the first family of the Samajwadi Party, Ram Gopal Yadav has retained his position as Chairman of the Committee on Health and Family Welfare.

BJP’s Hukum Dev Narayan and Anurag Thakur will continue to chair committees on agriculture and information technology, and BC Khanduri, the chairman of the defence committee. Kambhampati Haribabu is the new chairman of Energy panel. Its former chairman Virendra Kumar had found a place in the Cabinet in the latest reshuffle. BJP MP from Maharashtra Kirit Somayya retained his position as the head of Committee on Labour.

BJD MP Pinaki Misra, AIADMK MP P Venugopal and Shiv Sena leader Anandrao Adsul have retained the chairmanships of the panels on urban development, rural development, and chemicals and fertilizers respectively.