Express News Service
NEW DELHI: Days after losing the chairmanship of key Parliamentary Committees, Congress Lok Sabha leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said that the Union government’s differences with Shashi Tharoor led Information Technology (IT) Parliamentary panel might have triggered the decision to remove him from the post. During Tharoor’s tenure as IT panel chief, he had locked horns with BJP members in the committee, besides taking up several controversial issues such as Pegasus, Data Protection Bill and ‘summoning twitter officials’.
On Tuesday, in a reconstitution of Parliamentary Committees, the BJP and its allies held sway over chairman posts of key panels such as — Home Affairs, Information Technology, Defence, Health and Family Welfare, External Affairs and Finance. While Congress lost the chairmanship of both the Home affairs panel and (IT) Parliamentary panel, TMC, the second largest opposition party didn’t get any. The move had triggered strong protests from both parties.
In the rejig, BJP MP Brij Lal has been appointed at the helm of Home Affairs panel replacing Congress MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi. Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor was replaced by Shiv Sena MP Prataprao Jadhav as the new chairman of the IT panel. Jadhav belongs to Shiv Sena’s Eknath Shinde faction. Speaking to this daily, Chowdhury described the move as another attempt to muzzle the voice of the Opposition. “The government’s differences with the Tharoor-led IT panel might have triggered the decision. The posts were taken away from the party because they are scared that Tharoor will create more problems for them,” he said.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh was retained as the chairperson of the committee on Science and Technology, Environment and Forests, the party nominated RS MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi as chairman of the Standing Committee on Commerce. Though chairmanship for the panel on chemicals and fertilisers was offered to Congress, the party is yet to make a decision. Chowdhury said though he met the Speaker and wrote two letters over the arbitrary action of the government, he didn’t receive any favourable response.
Sena MP replaces Tharoor in IT panelLok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor was replaced by Shiv Sena MP Prataprao Jadhav as the new chairman of the IT panel. Jadhav belongs to Shiv Sena’s Eknath Shinde faction.
NEW DELHI: Days after losing the chairmanship of key Parliamentary Committees, Congress Lok Sabha leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said that the Union government’s differences with Shashi Tharoor led Information Technology (IT) Parliamentary panel might have triggered the decision to remove him from the post. During Tharoor’s tenure as IT panel chief, he had locked horns with BJP members in the committee, besides taking up several controversial issues such as Pegasus, Data Protection Bill and ‘summoning twitter officials’.
On Tuesday, in a reconstitution of Parliamentary Committees, the BJP and its allies held sway over chairman posts of key panels such as — Home Affairs, Information Technology, Defence, Health and Family Welfare, External Affairs and Finance. While Congress lost the chairmanship of both the Home affairs panel and (IT) Parliamentary panel, TMC, the second largest opposition party didn’t get any. The move had triggered strong protests from both parties.
In the rejig, BJP MP Brij Lal has been appointed at the helm of Home Affairs panel replacing Congress MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi. Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor was replaced by Shiv Sena MP Prataprao Jadhav as the new chairman of the IT panel. Jadhav belongs to Shiv Sena’s Eknath Shinde faction. Speaking to this daily, Chowdhury described the move as another attempt to muzzle the voice of the Opposition. “The government’s differences with the Tharoor-led IT panel might have triggered the decision. The posts were taken away from the party because they are scared that Tharoor will create more problems for them,” he said.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh was retained as the chairperson of the committee on Science and Technology, Environment and Forests, the party nominated RS MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi as chairman of the Standing Committee on Commerce. Though chairmanship for the panel on chemicals and fertilisers was offered to Congress, the party is yet to make a decision. Chowdhury said though he met the Speaker and wrote two letters over the arbitrary action of the government, he didn’t receive any favourable response.
Sena MP replaces Tharoor in IT panel
Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor was replaced by Shiv Sena MP Prataprao Jadhav as the new chairman of the IT panel. Jadhav belongs to Shiv Sena’s Eknath Shinde faction.
