New Delhi: Senior leaders from the Opposition INDIA bloc parties are likely to meet a Union minister next week to discuss the formation of various parliamentary standing committees in the 18th Lok Sabha, people aware of the matter said.
In the meeting, expected on September 8, the Opposition is expected to demand the chairmanship of key panels as well as chairmanship of at least six of the 16 department-related standing committees under the purview of the Lok Sabha.
Of the 24 department-related standing panels in Parliament, eight are headed by members of the Rajya Sabha.
The Congress, people cited above said, is expected to demand chairmanship of three Lok Sabha panels, while the Samajwadi Party, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and Trinamool Congress (TMC) might also seek to head one panel each. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is likely to chair eight panels and the remaining two Lower House panels might be given to its NDA allies Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Janata Dal (United) or JD(U).
To be sure, Lok Sabha Speaker and Rajya Sabha chairman pick the chairpersons of the House panels.
The standing committees, which hold key to Parliament’s supervisory role on the government, are yet to be reconstituted despite two sessions — a special and the monsoon session —being concluded in the 18th Lok Sabha. Each standing committee oversees the functioning of one or a few ministries.
The Opposition has expressed discontent at the delay in the formation of House panels. In a letter to Union health minister and Leader of House in the Rajya Sabha, JP Nadda, TMC lawmaker Derek O’Brien on Tuesday expressed concern over the delay in the reconstitution of department-related parliamentary standing committees (DPSCs).
“When we met in the Rajya Sabha I had verbally brought this up. You had verbally assured me that the committees would be formed within the duration of the Monsoon Session. Unfortunately, even as August slips by, the parliamentary committees have still not been constituted,” O’Brien wrote in the letter, which also referenced the secretariat’s July 9 request for party nominations for panels to be submitted by July 17.
