Congress leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor was appointed as the chairman of the chairperson of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Chemicals and Fertilizers, as per a notification of the Lok Sabha Secretariat. Tharoor's appointment came after the Congress leadership suggested his name for the post.
The Lok Sabha Secretariat issued the notification listing out the names of the members of the parliamentary panel on chemicals and fertilisers with Tharoor as its chairperson.
The development comes at a time when Tharoor is gearing up to contest the upcoming Congress presidential elections against Congress veteran Mallikarjun Kharge on October 17. The results will be announced on October 19.
Reshuffle Of The Panels
Reshuffling of parliamentary panels happens every year. Earlier, Tharoor was heading the Parliamentary Panel on Information Technology. However, he now has been replaced as a member of that committee by Tamil Nadu Congress leader MK Vishnu Prasad, as per a notification released by the Secretariat.
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MK Vishnu Prasad is a Congress MP from Tamil Nadu's Arani constituency. He serves as the acting president of the Indian National Congress party's Tamil Nadu Congress Committee. He is the son of M Krishnasswamy, who served as the president of Tamil Nadu Congress Committee from 2006-08.
The Parliamentary Panel on Information Technology under Tharoor was staunchly critical of the government's actions on various issues, especially the Pegasus snooping controversy, internet shutdowns in several parts of the nation during protests and the Facebook whistle-blowing incident.
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Besides the panel on chemicals and fertilisers, the Congress has been given the chairmanship of the panel on commerce and environment.
(With inputs from PTI)