VP Jagdeep Dhankhar’s Staff Involved with Other Parliamentary Committees: Criticized by Opposition
The Vice President and Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankar's staff has eight officers who have been "affiliated" to 12 standing committees and eight department-related standing committees of parliament. This has prompted criticism from the opposition.
The committee staff includes Officer on Special Duty (OSD) Abhyuday Singh Shekhawat, PS Sujeet Kumar, APS Sanjay Verma, and PS Rajesh N. Naik.
His OSDs Akhil Choudhary, Dinesh D, Kaustubh Sudhankar Bhalekar, and P S Aditi Chaudhary were chosen by the Rajya Sabha Chairman, Jagdeep Dhankhar.
VP Jagdeep Dhankhar’s Staff Involved with Other Parliamentary Committees: Criticized by Opposition
The Rajya Sabha Secretariat stated that the officers had been assigned to the committees "with immediate effect and until further orders" in an order released on Tuesday.
These officers are supposed to support the committees during their work, which may involve private meetings. "The main objective was to complement the staff and officer support to the individual committees," a vice president Jagdeep Dhankhar’s office representative stated.
The LAARDIS (Library, Research, Documentation, and Information Service) has also posted research personnel in the same line. Only positions up to the director level are available in the Lok Sabha. These steps will aid in providing research to the committees and exposing personnel to the various sides of the Rajya Sabha.
VP Jagdeep Dhankhar’s Staff Involved with Other Parliamentary Committees: Criticized by Opposition
The opposition, however, was very critical of the order. Former Rajya Sabha MP and CPI general secretary D Raja criticized the action as "violating established parliamentary norms." At the same time, congress' Rajya Sabha chief whip, Jairam Ramesh, questioned the "logic or necessity" behind it.
"I cannot fathom the reasoning behind or need for this action. All Rajya Sabha committees already have capable staff members sourced from the secretariat. In contrast to the Chairman, these are Rajya Sabha committees.
The head of the permanent science and technology committee, Ramesh, stated there had been no consultation. Manoj Jha, a member of the RJD in the Rajya Sabha, questioned the reasoning for the action, which fundamentally goes against the purpose and design of standing committees.
Manish Tewari, a member of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, tweeted: "VP is chairperson of the Council of States ex-officio. Like the vice chairperson or panel of vice chairpersons, he is not a member of the House.
How does he get personal employees appointed to parliamentary standing committees? This would be considered institutional subversion. According to P D T Achary, a former secretary general of the Lok Sabha, only MPs and employees of the Rajya Sabha or Lok Sabha secretariats are eligible to serve in such support roles for parliamentary committees.
"Neither the speaker nor the Chairman may designate staff members to help the committees, according to the rules. The definition of a parliamentary committee makes it very clear that they are limited to members and secretariat staff from the Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha.
VP Jagdeep Dhankhar’s Staff Involved with Other Parliamentary Committees: Criticized by Opposition
Parliamentary secretariats do not include the speaker's or the Chairman's personal employees. Such appointments have yet to be made, "Achary stated.
In total, there are 24 standing committees, each composed of 10 Rajya Sabha members and 21 members of the Lok Sabha. The Lok Sabha speaker oversees 16 of the 24, while the Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar oversees eight.
Upon their introduction in the House, most measures are assigned to these committees for in-depth review. According to requests made by the MPs, the speaker and the Chairman are qualified to do so.
In collaboration with the subject matter experts, the committees do the scrutiny job. Public submissions in writing are also encouraged. The relevant ministers and government representatives also request a proposal before the committees.
For more updates, please keep visiting our website www.topstoriesworld.com, where we provide unbiased, trustworthy, and top stories of the world.
VP Jagdeep Dhankhar’s Staff Involved with Other Parliamentary Committees: Criticized by Opposition
The Rajya Sabha Secretariat stated that the officers had been assigned to the committees "with immediate effect and until further orders" in an order released on Tuesday.
These officers are supposed to support the committees during their work, which may involve private meetings. "The main objective was to complement the staff and officer support to the individual committees," a vice president Jagdeep Dhankhar’s office representative stated.
The LAARDIS (Library, Research, Documentation, and Information Service) has also posted research personnel in the same line. Only positions up to the director level are available in the Lok Sabha. These steps will aid in providing research to the committees and exposing personnel to the various sides of the Rajya Sabha.
VP Jagdeep Dhankhar’s Staff Involved with Other Parliamentary Committees: Criticized by Opposition
The opposition, however, was very critical of the order. Former Rajya Sabha MP and CPI general secretary D Raja criticized the action as "violating established parliamentary norms." At the same time, congress' Rajya Sabha chief whip, Jairam Ramesh, questioned the "logic or necessity" behind it.
"I cannot fathom the reasoning behind or need for this action. All Rajya Sabha committees already have capable staff members sourced from the secretariat. In contrast to the Chairman, these are Rajya Sabha committees.
The head of the permanent science and technology committee, Ramesh, stated there had been no consultation. Manoj Jha, a member of the RJD in the Rajya Sabha, questioned the reasoning for the action, which fundamentally goes against the purpose and design of standing committees.
Manish Tewari, a member of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, tweeted: "VP is chairperson of the Council of States ex-officio. Like the vice chairperson or panel of vice chairpersons, he is not a member of the House.
How does he get personal employees appointed to parliamentary standing committees? This would be considered institutional subversion. According to P D T Achary, a former secretary general of the Lok Sabha, only MPs and employees of the Rajya Sabha or Lok Sabha secretariats are eligible to serve in such support roles for parliamentary committees.
"Neither the speaker nor the Chairman may designate staff members to help the committees, according to the rules. The definition of a parliamentary committee makes it very clear that they are limited to members and secretariat staff from the Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha.
VP Jagdeep Dhankhar’s Staff Involved with Other Parliamentary Committees: Criticized by Opposition
Parliamentary secretariats do not include the speaker's or the Chairman's personal employees. Such appointments have yet to be made, "Achary stated.
In total, there are 24 standing committees, each composed of 10 Rajya Sabha members and 21 members of the Lok Sabha. The Lok Sabha speaker oversees 16 of the 24, while the Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar oversees eight.
Upon their introduction in the House, most measures are assigned to these committees for in-depth review. According to requests made by the MPs, the speaker and the Chairman are qualified to do so.
In collaboration with the subject matter experts, the committees do the scrutiny job. Public submissions in writing are also encouraged. The relevant ministers and government representatives also request a proposal before the committees.
For more updates, please keep visiting our website www.topstoriesworld.com, where we provide unbiased, trustworthy, and top stories of the world.
