In a significant development, the Congress has lost chairmanship of the Parliamentary panels on Communication & IT and Home.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who headed the key Lok Sabha panel on Communication & IT, has now been replaced by Shiv Sena MP Prataprao Jadhav. Incidentally, Jadhav belongs to Eknath Shinde's faction within Shiv Sena.
Similarly, BJP Rajya Sabha MP from Uttar Pradesh, Brijlal, will now head the Parliamentary panel on Home, which was earlier with the Congress.
The Lok Sabha Parliamentary panel on Energy, which was headed by erstwhile NDA ally JD-U's Rajiv Ranjan Singh Lalan, will now be headed by BJP MP Jagdambika Pal.
The panel on Energy is considering the controversial Electricity Amendment Bill.
Congress MP Jairam Ramesh has been appointed as the Chairman of the Parliamentary standing committee on Science and Technology, Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
Incidentally, Trinamool Congress, the third largest party in the Lok Sabha, has not been given any panel to head.
BJP and its allies now head key panels on Home, IT, Defence, External Affairs, Finance and Health.
Lok Sabha MP Radha Mohan Singh has been appointed the Chairman of the Parliamentary standing committee on Railways.
BJP Rajya Sabha MP from Bihar, Vivek Thakur, has been appointed as the Chairman of the standing committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports.
All the Parliamentary panels' tenure had ended last month, which had necessitated their reconstitution.
(With inputs from IANS)
