BJP knocks off Congress and others, corners 6 parliamentary panels

Opposition parties have not been given the chairmanship of any of the four key parliamentary panels including the committee on home affairs and information technology, which were with the Congress, in the latest rejig announced on Tuesday.

With this, the chair of six major parliamentary committees -- home, IT, defence, external affairs, finance and health -- all are with the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies.

Congress MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi has been replaced by BJP MP and retired IPS officer Brij Lal as the chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on home affairs.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who is contesting the party's presidential polls, has been replaced by Prataprao Jadhav, a Shiv Sena MP from the Eknath Shinde faction, as the head of the parliamentary panel on information technology.

The Trinamool Congress, which had the chair of the parliamentary panel on food and consumer affairs, has not been given the chairmanship of any parliamentary committee after the reshuffle.

"TMC is the third largest party in Parliament, also the second largest opposition party does not get a single chairmanship. The largest opposition party loses two crucial chairmanships of standing committees. This is the stark reality of New India," TMC leader in Rajya Sabha Derek O'Brien said in a statement.

Samajwadi Party leader Ramgopal Yadav has been replaced as the chairperson of the parliamentary standing committee on health and family welfare.

The panel on food will be chaired by BJP MP Locket Chatterjee and health by her party colleague Vivek Thakur.

Also, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam has been given the chairmanship of the parliamentary panel on industry, which was till now with the Telangana Rashtra Samithi.