Parliament committee reshuffle changes six chairmanships; TMC objects
Commerce and chemicals panels get new leadership as a dispute over the status of breakaway MPs remains unresolved.
A reshuffle affecting six of Parliament's 24 standing-committee chairmanships has drawn objections from the Trinamool Congress, The Indian Express reported in its October 4 update. The changes were made on Saturday.
BJP Rajya Sabha member Sudhanshu Trivedi replaces Dola Sen at the commerce committee. The chemicals committee moves from Kirti Azad to Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, who led a breakaway group of TMC MPs.
The report says that group sought recognition after claiming a merger with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India. The Speaker's decision on its status remains pending, an important qualification when describing the political realignment.
TMC parliamentary leader Derek O'Brien protested to the Rajya Sabha chairman, arguing that his party's strength in the Upper House warranted a chairmanship. The immediate development is a change in who leads parliamentary scrutiny, alongside a continuing representation dispute; it is not the passage of new legislation.