Congress President Sonia Gandhi has reconstituted the party’s parliamentary groups ahead of the Monsoon Session, ANI reported on Sunday.
MPs Manish Tiwari and Shashi Tharoor, who were part of the G-23, the group that wrote to Gandhi last year to demand a complete revamp of the party, will also be in the Congress’ seven-member group in the Lok Sabha.
“As the chairperson of the CPP [Congress Parliamentary Party], I have decided to reconstitute the following groups to facilitate and ensure the effective functioning of our party in both Houses of Parliament,” Gandhi said in a letter. “These groups will meet daily during the session and can meet during the inter-session periods as well where Parliament issues are concerned.”
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury will continue to serve as the party’s leader in the Lok Sabha. Gaurav Gogoi was retained as the deputy leader in the lower house of the Parliament.
MP K Suresh will be the party’s chief whip in the Lok Sabha. Ravneet Singh Bittu and Manickam Tagore also retained their positions as whips.
Gandhi brought senior Congress leaders Ambika Soni, P Chidambaram and Digvijaya Singh to the Rajya Sabha group. Mallikarjun Kharge will be the leader of the house in the Rajya Sabha, while Anand Sharma will hold on to the position of deputy leader. Jairam Ramesh will be the chief whip in the Rajya Sabha.
The Monsoon Session of Parliament will be held from July 19 to August 13. The proceedings in both Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha will commence from 11 am and continue till 6 pm.
During the session, the Opposition is likely to raise matters related to the Centre’s Covid-19 vaccination strategy, the economy, and farmers, the Hindustan Times reported.
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