Parl panels reconstituted; Rahul remains member of Committee on Defence

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who was reinstated as an MP after losing his membership of the Lok Sabha following his conviction in a criminal defamation case, remains a member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence while fellow party colleague and Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh continues as the chairperson of the Committee on Science & Technology, Environment, Forests and Climate Change, a month after hinting at resignation.

A Lok Sabha bulletin on the members of the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee was released on Saturday, two days ahead of the Special Session of Parliament from September 18 to 22.

The newly formed department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee came into effect from September 13.

According to the bulletin, the chairs of six major parliamentary committees - Home, IT, Defence, External Affairs, Finance and Health - are all with the BJP or its allies.

Meanwhile, from the opposition, Abhishek Manu Singhvi of the Congress has been appointed as chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on Commerce; DMK MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi has been appointed chairperson of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj and Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has been named the chairperson of the Committee on Chemicals and Fertilisers.

Further, according to the bulletin, DMK's Tiruchi Siva has been appointed chairperson of the Committee on Industry; JD(U) MP Rajiv Ranjan Singh has been appointed chairperson of the Committee on Housing and Urban Affairs and YSRCP MP V Vijayasai Reddy has been named as the chairperson of Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture.