Congress ups ante, PC now head of key House panel

NEW DELHI: P Chidambaram has been named the new head of the Parliament standing committee on home affairs, while Anand Sharma will chair the panel on personnel, grievances, law and justice in mid-term replacements that give charge of two critical oversight forums to senior members in Congress party.

Both panels were headed by Rajya Sabha members from Congress, but the choice of replacements in the form of experienced hands has triggered a buzz about a strategy in changed political circumstances.

While Chidambaram has been put in charge of the home affairs panel by removing Pradeep Bhattacharya, Sharma, the deputy leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha, replaced E M S Natchiappan who has retired from the Upper House.

According to party members, the decision indicates Congress is keen to put government policies and important developments under scrutiny . The internal security situation has flared up amid disturbances in J&K, besides assaults on Dalits and Muslims by gau rakshaks.

At the same time, the CBI, judicial appointments and the Union law ministry are crucial mandates overseen by the parliamentary panel. They have come under fire from the opposition in recent weeks. The changes were made during the annual reshuffle of panels.

Given that the lead opposition party is passing through its worst political crisis after the 2014 decimation, the strategists have been mulling steps to sharpen its edge in Parliament and oversight panels. It was the same plan which saw the recent return of experienced hands and ace lawyers Chidambaram and Kapil Sibal to Rajya Sabha, besides the appointment of another legal brain in Vivek Tankha to the Upper House.