Cong may head 4 dept-related standing committees in House

The Congress is likely to head four department-related parliamentary standing committees, including the panels on external affairs and education, according to people aware of informal negotiations between government managers and party leaders at a time when the panels for the 18th Lok Sabha are set to named.

Members of the principal Opposition party, which has 98 lawmakers in the Lok Sabha and 27 MPs in the Rajya Sabha, may also head the panels on agriculture and rural development, the people indicated. The party will, however, not lead the panels it headed in the 17th Lok Sabha, they added. The Congress chaired the environment, commerce, and chemicals & fertilizers panels.

According to a senior Congress leader, the party asked for the chairmanship of the health panel but government managers indicated that it may go to another Opposition party.Between 2014 to 2022, Samajwadi Party (SP) has held the top post in the standing committee on health.

The SP, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), the Janata Dal (United) and the Telugu Desam Party -- the last two are part of the ruling National Democratic Alliance government -- are expected to head one panel each. The BJP, which is likely to chair at least 14 of the 24 panels, has indicated that it may accommodate some of the party’s former chief ministers who have not been included in the Union council of ministers.

Former Karnataka CM Basavraj Bommai, former Jharkhand CM Arjun Munda, Trivendra Singh Rawat (Uttarakhand) and Biplab Kumar Deb (Tripura) may be considered for chairmanship of some panels, the people cited in the first instance said.

To be sure, the Lok Sabha Speaker and the Rajya Sabha chairman will approve the chairpersons and members of the House panels.

The Congress chaired the science & technology and environment panels for the past five years. This time, the government initially offered the second-largest party the chairman’s position of the education, women, children, youth and sports committee.

HT has learnt that Congress leader Jairam Ramesh (who headed the environment panel in the 17th Lok Sabha), its Lok Sabha deputy leader Gaurav Gogoi and chief whip Kodikunnil Suresh was present in a meeting about the constitution of standing committees with Union parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju earlier this month. The Congress leaders cited its improved tally of 98 seats (it won 99, but Rahul Gandhi vacated the Wayanad seat) to demand “qualitative and quantitative improvement” in its quota for chairmanship of House panels.

The chairman’s position in the external affairs panel for the Congress will be a big boost since the party, as HT reported earlier, had demanded a panel that oversees one of the top four ministries -- home, finance, defence and foreign affairs. The Congress also wanted the finance committee but the government managers argued that it is already heading the Public Accounts Committee, and so the finance committee should be given to another party.

Of the 24 department-related standing committees, 16 are headed by Lok Sabha MPs and the remaining eight panels are headed by Rajya Sabha members.

“We will be happy to get the chairmanship of these panels. Education panel also looks at WCD and youth affairs ministry. So, in a way, we will have jurisdiction over six ministries,” a senior Congress leader said, asking not to be named.