The All India Trinamool Congress Parliamentary Party has objected to the appointment of Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar as chairperson of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Chemicals and Fertilisers, with party leader Abhishek Banerjee writing to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla against the decision.
In his letter, Banerjee questioned why members of the rebel faction could be appointed to chair Parliamentary committees while disqualification petitions against them are pending before the Speaker.
The objection comes after the reconstitution of various department-related Parliamentary standing committees on Saturday. Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, who leads a rebel faction of TMC MPs, replaced her former party colleague Kirti Azad as chairperson of the Chemicals and Fertilisers panel. BJP’s Sudhanshu Trivedi was appointed chairperson of the Commerce Committee, replacing TMC’s Dola Sen.
ABHISHEK QUESTIONS APPOINTMENT OF REBEL MPs
Referring to his earlier letters, Banerjee said he had on September 23 expressly requested that the rebel MPs be kept out of consideration for Department-Related Standing Committee appointments until the disqualification petitions against them were decided.
“Why appoint rebel MPs on Parliamentary Committees till their disqualification petition is pending,” Banerjee asked in his communication to the Lok Sabha Speaker.
The 20 MPs had broken away from the TMC and aligned themselves with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI). They have sought recognition as a separate group in the Lok Sabha, while TMC has challenged their move and filed disqualification petitions against them. The rebel MPs have maintained that their move constituted a valid merger.
The disqualification issue remains pending before the Speaker. The Supreme Court recently took note of the delay in deciding the petitions and described the three-month delay as a “red flag”, while hearing a plea seeking expeditious disposal of the proceedings.
AITC SEEKS TO RETAIN COMMITTEE CHAIRMANSHIP
Banerjee also said the party had requested that AITC retain the chairmanship of one Parliamentary standing committee and had conveyed its nomination for the existing chairperson to continue.
According to Banerjee, the appointment of Dastidar disregarded both the party’s objection to the appointment of rebel MPs and its nomination for the continuation of the existing chairperson.
He further pointed to the Lok Sabha’s records, saying they continue to show 28 Lok Sabha members belonging to AITC.
Banerjee also referred to the pending disqualification petitions against MPs who, according to him, had merged with NCPI. The party has maintained that the status of these MPs has not been finally determined while the disqualification proceedings remain pending.
TMC LOSES TWO PANEL CHAIRPERSONSHIPS
The latest reshuffle has resulted in the TMC Parliamentary Party losing both of its earlier chairpersonships in the department-related standing committees.
BJP’s Sudhanshu Trivedi has replaced Dola Sen as chairperson of the Commerce Committee, while Dastidar has replaced Kirti Azad as chairperson of the Chemicals and Fertilisers Committee.
Several other chairpersons have been retained. DMK MPs Tiruchi Siva and K Kanimozhi will continue to head the committees on Industry and Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution, respectively. Congress MPs Shashi Tharoor and Charanjit Singh Channi have also retained the chairmanships of the committees on External Affairs and Agriculture.
The reshuffle comes amid an ongoing dispute over the status of the 20 rebel TMC MPs and their claim of having merged with NCPI. With the disqualification petitions yet to be decided, Banerjee’s objection has now placed the appointment of Dastidar at the centre of the latest Parliamentary committee reshuffle.
– Ends
