As per strength, the Congress is entitled to head four committees three in the Lok Sabha and one in the Rajya Sabha. Congress demanded to head the committees on External Affairs, Finance, and Defence, which the government refused. Later, Congress agreed to only one out of three, which the government again refused to accept. The government instead proposed that the following committees be led by Congress: Rural Development, Housing and Urban Affairs, Labour, Textiles, and Skill Development.

Presently, senior Congress leader KC Venugopal is the chairman of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee.

Other Opposition Parties To Get One Seat Each

Other Opposition parties like Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party and DMK are likely to get one parliamentary committee each. The Trinamool Congress hasn’t disclosed its name yet saying that the party doesn’t negotiate on such matters. Derek O’Brien, party’s leader in Rajya Sabha said that he has not received any response to his two letters to the government seeking clarification. O’Brien also attacked BJP for trying to convert Parliament into a ‘dark chamber’ since after three months of election results, there is no indication about the formation of committees.

DMK is likely to get one chairmanship for a standing committee, and Samajwadi Party Rajya Sabha MP Ram Gopal Yadav is likely to head the committee on education.

Congress May Get 4 Committees

Though Congress has sought six committees, they may get three in Lok Sabha and one in Rajya Sabha. Which committee Rahul Gandhi is interested in is not known yet.

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju termed claims of delay in the announcement of the parliamentary standing committee as baseless on Monday. He said that in the committees, seats for the main opposition parties are being given out according to their number of seats. Rijiju mentioned that every year, such committees are formed around the end of September, and it’s not appropriate on the part of some MPs to whine about delays amid the ongoing process.