Govt Constitutes Parliament Standing Committees, Shashi Tharoor To Chair External Affairs, Home

New Delhi: The government on Thursday constituted Parliament's standing committees of various ministries including coal, mines, steel, energy, petroleum external affairs among others. The department-related standing committees, which have representation from across party lines, act as mini parliaments and keep a tab on the functioning of various ministries. The notification of the committees was announced by a communique issued by the Rajya Sabha Secretariat.

Rahul Gandhi , Shashi Tharoor To Chair Defence, External Affairs 

Rahul Gandhi , Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, is a member of the Committee on Defence. United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi 's name does not figure in any of the committees. Crucial committees of External Affairs and Home will be chaired by Congress ' Shashi Tharoor, BJP 's Radha Mohan Das Agarwal.

What's in for BJP allies?

Major BJP allies such as the TDP and Janata Dal (United) besides its partners in poll-bound Maharashtra , the Shiv Sena and NCP, will be heading one committee each.

The lone NCP Lok Sabha member Sunil Tatkare will be heading the panel on Petroleum and Natural Gas and Shiv Sena's Shrirang Appa Barne will helm the committee on Energy.

JD(U)'s Sanjay Jha will be heading the committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture while TDP's Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy will chair the committee on Housing and Urban Affairs.

Congress members Charanjit Singh Channi and Saptagiri Ulaka have been made chairpersons of the committees on Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Food Processing; and Rural Development and Panchayati Raj respectively.

DMK's Tiruchi Siva and Kanimozhi will chair the committees on Industry; and Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution respectively.

BJP to chair 11 committees, allies 4, Opposition 9 

Of the total 24 department-related standing committees, BJP has got to chair 11, while its allies have got to lead four panels. Congress leaders will helm four committees, followed by two each by DMK and Trinamool, and one by the Samajwadi Party.

Former Union Minister Anurag Thakur and Rajiv Pratap Rudy have been given the chairmanships of the committees on Coal, Mines and Steel; and Water Resources respectively.

BJP member Nishikant Dubey has been made the chairman of the Committee on Communications and Information Technology.

In the previous Lok Sabha, Dubey had a running battle with Tharoor, who was the chair on the panel of Committee and IT. Tharoor was replaced as chair of the crucial committee in 2022.

The Committee on Health will be chaired by SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav, while Trinamool leaders Dola Sen and Kirti Azad will lead the panels on Commerce; and Chemicals and Fertilisers respectively.

The Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice will be chaired by BJP 's Brij Lal, a former director general of police of Uttar Pradesh. Former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and Bar Council of India Chairman Manan Mishra are members of the committee.

BJP members Bhubaneswar Kalita and Basavraj Bommai will chair the committees on Science and Technology, Environment, Forests and Climate Change; and Labour respectively.

The Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment will be chaired by BJP 's P C Mohan, while the panel on Railways will be led by C M Ramesh.

With inputs from PTI