Parliamentary Standing Committees: Congress set to lead four panels

New Delhi: The government has wrapped up negotiations with parties on the issue who will head Parliamentary Standing Committees with the main Opposition party Congress all set to lead four such panels, including the crucial External Affairs, though its demand for the Home Affairs committee was not acceded to.

Sources said Congress MPs will chair the Parliamentary Standing Committees on External Affairs, Agriculture and Rural Development, which are monitored by the Lok Sabha, and the Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports, which comes under the Rajya Sabha.

In the previous Lok Sabha, the Congress had chaired two standing committees in the Rajya Sabha and one in the Lok Sabha. Jairam Ramesh headed the committee on Science and Technology, Environment, Forests and Climate Change while Abhishek Singhvi chaired the panel on Commerce, both under Rajya Sabha, and Shashi Tharoor headed the Committee on Chemicals and Fertilisers under the Lok Sabha.

The Congress is heading the External Affairs committee after a gap of five years. Shashi Tharoor used to head it then.

In its negotiations with the government, the Congress has been demanding that it may be allocated a total of five committees -- four under Lok Sabha and one under Rajya Sabha. It wanted at least one of the three main panels – Finance, Defence and External Affairs helmed by Lok Sabha. It also has demanded chairmanships of Social Justice and Agriculture panels.

Congress had deputed party Lok Sabha Deputy Leader Gaurav Gogoi, Chief Whips K Suresh (Lok Sabha) and Jairam Ramesh (Rajya Sabha) for negotiations with the government, which were represented by union ministers Kiren Rijiju, Arjun Ram Meghwal and L Murugan.

Sources said the government had earlier told the Congress that it would not be able to give them leadership of five committees as they wanted to accommodate other Opposition parties like DMK, Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Samajwadi Party.

TMC sources said the government has not reached out to them and they do not have made any demands. Samajwadi Party sources had earlier said they would prefer a committee under Rajya Sabha so that its senior leader Ramgopal Yadav could head one.