Centre to extend Parliamentary panels' terms, boost for Shashi Tharoor
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New Delhi: The Centre is likely to extend the tenure of the parliamentary standing committees for two more years to what one report said enhance ‘continuity and enable in-depth scrutiny of bills, reports and policy matters’.
The extension of the standing committees’ tenure could allow Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who is at loggerheads with his party, to continue in his position for another two years, according to India Today.
The current committees’terms, including that of the external affairs committee chaired by Shashi Tharoor, are set to expire on September 26.
These committees, which play crucial role in examining proposed legislation, reviewing government policies and budget allocations, are permanent bodies with a fixed number of lawmakers from both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sahba.
They are able to hold ministries accountable via inquiries, collecting evidence in matters concerning governance.
These committees act as ‘mini-parliaments’ when Parliament is not in session thus enabling lawmakers to ‘conduct detailed policy and legislative oversight’.
Though the committees are currently reconstituted every year, lawmakers including those from the Opposition urged the government to extend the tenure to two years claiming that one year is not sufficient for in-depth studies.