Key Parliamentary Committees Announced with New Leadership

Parliament's standing committees were formed on Thursday with notable appointments including BJP's Bhartruhari Mahtab on Finance and Congress' Shashi Tharoor on External Affairs. These committees, representing various parties, monitor the functioning of different ministries. Key appointments also include members from BJP allies and other parties to head various crucial committees.

Key parliamentary standing committees were constituted on Thursday, with significant appointments such as BJP's Bhartruhari Mahtab chairing the Finance panel and Congress' Shashi Tharoor heading the External Affairs committee.

The standing committees, which include members across party lines, function as mini parliaments to oversee the performance of various ministries. The notification of these appointments was made by a communiqué from the Rajya Sabha Secretariat.

Other notable appointments include the committee on Defence chaired by former Union Minister Radha Mohan Singh and the Home Affairs panel led by BJP's Radha Mohan Das Agrawal. Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, joins the Defence committee, but Sonia Gandhi's name is absent from any committee. BJP allies like TDP, JD(U), Shiv Sena, and NCP are also leading key committees, with NCP's Sunil Tatkare chairing Petroleum and Natural Gas, and Shiv Sena's Shrirang Appa Barne heading the Energy committee.

(With inputs from agencies.)