In keeping with the trend, the BJP kept for itself the Chair of five out of 11 Lok Sabha panels constituted on Wednesday. From Ethics to Privileges, these panels are mostly for housekeeping work of the Parliament.
The Ethics Committee will be headed by BJP’s Kaushambi MP Vinod Kumar Sonkar. This panel deals with any complaints regarding moral or ethical violation by the members. It also formulates the code of conduct for the members. In the previous Lok Sabha, the panel was headed by BJP patriarch L.K. Advani. Among other cases, the controversial complaint of Rahul Gandhi’s alleged United Kingdom citizenship was referred to this committee. The complaints against TMC MPs in Narada sting case were also looked at by this committee. Interestingly, in both cases the committee did not pass any ruling. It, in fact, rarely met.
The Privileges Committee is to be headed by BJP MP from Chattra constituency in Jharkhand Sunil Kumar Singh. Mr. Singh was a member of the Joint Parliamentary Committee to review the Citizenship Amendment Act in the previous Lok Sabha. The Privileges Committees reviews all cases of complaints against individuals or institutions for violating the Parliamentary privileges. The committee has quasi-judicial powers.
The other panels to be chaired by the BJP are the Empowerment of Women, Petitions and the Government Assurances committees.
The Congress’s Ludhiana MP Ravneet Singh Bittu gets to head the Committee on Absence of Members from Sittings. It monitors the members attendance and brings to attention of the House any absences without the permission from the Speaker and the House. The YSR Congress Party and the BSP too have got one committee each to head. YSRCP’s Kanumuru Raghu Rama Krishna Raju will head the committee on Subordinate Legislation while BSP’s Shyam Singh Yadav will chair the Committee on Papers Laid on the Table.
The other three notified committees includes joint committee on Salaries and Allowances of MPs. This committee with 15 members from both the Houses will elect its Chairperson. Similarly the nine-member Library Committee is also to pick its own Chairperson. The Rules Committee, the 11th committee notified on Wednesday, is to be headed by the Speaker of Lok Sabha himself. The committee reviews the working and rules of the Lok Sabha from time to time.
