Government Considers Two-Year Extension for Parliamentary Standing Committees: Potential Boost for Shashi Tharoor

New Delhi:

The government is contemplating extending the tenure of parliamentary standing committees from one year to two years. According to sources, this consideration comes in response to opposition suggestions aimed at enabling more thorough and in-depth scrutiny of bills and policy matters.

With current committee tenures set to expire this month, it appears unlikely that there will be any changes to the chairperson positions at this time.

This potential change carries significant political implications, particularly for Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who has reportedly experienced differences with his party. Having been appointed as chairman of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs on September 26 last year, the extension would allow Mr. Tharoor to maintain his chairmanship for an additional two years.

The existing structure includes 24 standing committees, each composed of 31 members - 21 from the Lok Sabha and 10 from the Rajya Sabha. These committees are tasked with monitoring the proceedings, budgets, and policies of specific ministries or departments.

Committee chairpersons are nominated by the Lok Sabha Speaker and Rajya Sabha Chairman, while committee members are selected based on nominations received from political parties.

Currently, standing committees undergo annual reconstitution, which often results in continuity challenges when new members join the panels. Addressing these issues, Opposition members have advocated for extended committee tenures to facilitate more comprehensive examination of bills, reports, and various issues.