Two TMC MPs removed as parliamentary committee chairs:Sudhanshu replaces Dola as head of Commerce panel; Mamata camp left with just 16 MPs across both Houses

Parliamentary committees were reconstituted in New Delhi on Saturday. Following the change, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) lost the chairmanship of two major committees. The change came after a split in the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC. The Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committees have a one-year term. They are reconstituted after the term ends. Rajya Sabha Chairman C.P. Radhakrishnan and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla reconstituted the Department-related Standing Committees. BJP leader Sudhanshu Trivedi was appointed the new chairperson of the Commerce Committee. Sudhanshu Trivedi replaced the TMC’s Dola Sen. Meanwhile, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, leader of the rebel TMC faction, took over as chairperson of the Chemicals and Fertilisers Committee, replacing her former party colleague Kirti Azad. Under Dastidar’s leadership, 20 rebel TMC Lok Sabha MPs left the party, joined the Nationalist Citizen Party and supported the NDA. The Mamata faction has eight MPs in the Lok Sabha and eight in the Rajya Sabha. This means the faction has only 16 MPs in Parliament. Several Chairpersons Given Responsibility Again DMK MP Tiruchi Siva has been reappointed chairperson of the Committee on Industry. Kanimozhi has again been appointed chairperson of the Committee on Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution. Some leaders from BJP’s key allies JD(U), Shiv Sena and TDP have also been retained as chairpersons of various parliamentary committees. Congress leaders Shashi Tharoor and Charanjit Singh Channi have also been retained as committee chairpersons. Tharoor is chairperson of the Committee on External Affairs, while Channi heads the Committee on Agriculture. Congress leader Mukul Wasnik has been retained as chairperson of the Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports. Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav will continue as chairperson of the Committee on Health and Family Welfare. New Responsibilities for Various Committees BJP leader Radha Mohan Singh will chair the Committee on Defence. JD(U) leader Sanjay Kumar Jha has been reappointed chairperson of the Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture. Shiv Sena’s Shrirang Barne has been retained as chairperson of the Energy Committee. NCP’s Sunil Dattatray Tatkare has been appointed chairperson of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Committee. Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MP Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy has been appointed chairperson of the Housing and Urban Affairs Committee. BJP’s Sujeet Kumar has taken over as chairperson of the Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice, replacing his party colleague Brijlal. Former Union minister Anurag Thakur has been reappointed chairperson of the Coal, Mines and Steel Committee. BJP’s Rajiv Pratap Rudy will continue as chairperson of the Water Resources Committee. BJP’s Bhartruhari Mahtab will continue to chair the Finance Committee. His party colleague Radha Mohan Das Agrawal has been retained as chairperson of the Home Affairs Committee. BJP’s Nishikant Dubey has been reappointed as chairperson of the Communications and Information Technology Committee. BJP MP Medha Vishram Kulkarni from Maharashtra has retained the chairpersonship of the Science and Technology, Environment, Forests and Climate Change Committee. BJP’s Sudhir Gupta has taken over as chairperson of the Railway Committee, replacing his party colleague C. M. Ramesh. Congress’s Saptagiri Shankar Ulaka has been reappointed as chairperson of the Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Committee. BJP’s P. C. Mohan has been appointed chairperson of the Social Justice and Empowerment Committee. BJP MP Shashank Mani has been appointed chairperson of the Labour, Textiles and Skill Development Committee. ​