NEW DELHI: Following its demand for the deputy Speaker’s post citing parliamentary precedent, the Congress is now likely to seek the chairmanship of the standing committees on home, external affairs, and finance in the new Lok Sabha. While discussions between the government and the principal Opposition party have not yet begun, senior Congress leaders have indicated their preference for these committees, noting that traditionally, some of these committees have been headed by Opposition leaders.
The Congress, entitled to lead at least three committees, might seek the defense panel if the government does not agree to grant it finance or external affairs, according to senior Congress leaders. “When the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government was in power, Pranab Mukherjee (of the Congress) headed the home panel. Similarly, when the Manmohan Singh-led UPA was in power, BJP leader Yashwant Sinha chaired the finance panel, and another BJP leader, Anant Kumar, led the external affairs panel. Between 2009 and 2012, the standing committee on defense was chaired by BJP MP Satpal Maharaj,” said a senior Congress leader.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha Chairman appoint the heads of the panels that fall under their respective jurisdictions. There are 24 department-related standing committees that oversee the functioning of different ministries; 16 panels are under the jurisdiction of the Lok Sabha, and the rest are under the Rajya Sabha. “No decision on appointing chairpersons of the committees has been taken so far,” a Lok Sabha official said.
In the first session of the new Lok Sabha, the Congress demanded the BJP’s assurance that the deputy Speaker’s post would be given to the Opposition, citing long-standing precedents. With BJP leaders remaining non-committal, the Opposition fielded K Suresh for the Speaker’s election against Om Birla. Birla was elected as the Speaker by voice vote.
In internal discussions, the Congress has zeroed in on the panels that oversee the top four ministries: home, external affairs, finance, and defense. “The Congress is the second largest party with 98 MPs in the Lok Sabha and 26 in the Rajya Sabha. The government must agree to give us the panels handling the ministries forming the CCS,” said another Congress leader. However, there is no indication that the BJP will agree to the party’s demand. In the last Lok Sabha, the Congress led panels on environment, IT, chemicals and fertilizers, and commerce at different stages, while BJP lawmakers led the standing committees on home, external affairs, finance, and defense.
The Trinamool Congress might ask for the chairmanship of the railways or food panel, which it had led earlier. “The final decision will be taken by our leader Mamata Banerjee,” said a senior TMC leader.
