India Reconstitutes Parliamentary Committees as Trinamool Congress Loses Two Panels

Rajya Sabha Chairman C.P. Radhakrishnan and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla announced the annual reconstitution of Department-Related Parliamentary Standing Committees for 2026-27, effective September 26. The reshuffle affected 24 panels, resulting in the All India Trinamool Congress losing the chairpersonship of two key committees.

Bharatiya Janata Party MP Sudhanshu Trivedi replaced Dola Sen as chairperson of the Committee on Commerce, while Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, a leader of a TMC rebel faction and member of the Nationalist Citizens Party of India, replaced Kirti Azad as chairperson of the panel on chemicals and fertilisers. Additionally, the BJP secured the leadership of the Committee on Defence through the appointment of Radha Mohan Singh.

Other opposition parties, including the DMK, Congress, and Samajwadi Party, retained several chairmanships, and Congress MP Shashi Tharoor was reappointed to the Committee on External Affairs. The BJP also replaced some of its own members within the railways and personnel panels.

All India Trinamool Congress MLA Kunal Ghosh condemned the reshuffle as "anti-democratic," stating that the removal of Dola Sen and Kirti Azad "should not happen in a democracy."