Trinamool Congress loses two key parliamentary panel posts in reshuffle

New Delhi — The Trinamool Congress suffered setbacks in its parliamentary influence on Saturday as Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla reconstituted various department-related parliamentary standing committees.

The party lost the chairpersonship of two prominent panels. BJP MP Sudhanshu Trivedi has taken over the Parliamentary Committee on Commerce, replacing Trinamool Congress MP Dola Sen. In another development, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, identified as a leader of the Trinamool Congress's rebel faction, has assumed chairmanship of the panel on chemicals and fertilisers, displacing former party colleague Kirti Azad.

The reshuffle saw significant retention of positions held by BJP allies. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MPs Tiruchi Siva and K Kanimozhi were reappointed as chairpersons of the parliamentary committee on industry and the panel on food, consumer affairs and public distribution, respectively. Key coalition partners including the JD-U, Shiv Sena and Telugu Desam Party leadership also retained their committee positions.

The parliamentary standing committees play a crucial oversight role in scrutinising legislation and government policies across various sectors. Leadership of these panels is typically distributed among ruling and opposition parties based on their parliamentary strength and coalition arrangements.