Parliament Standing Committees Announced, BJP Vice-President Baijayant Panda In Commerce Panel

The Department-related Parliament's standing committees were constituted on Thursday with BJP National Vice-President and Kendrapara MP Baijayant Panda being named member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce while BJP's Bhartruhari Mahtab will helm the key panel on Finance.
Similarly, Sambit Patra has been appointed member of the Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth, and Sport. The department-related standing committees, which have representation from across party lines, act as mini Parliaments and keep a tab on the functioning of various ministries.
On the other hand, TDP's Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy appointed as the Chairman of the Committee on Housing and Urban Affairs while NCP's Sunil Dattatray Tatkare has been appointed as the Chairman of the Committee on Petroleum and Natural Gas.
Congress' Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka has been appointed as the Chairman of the Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj while the party's MP Shashi Tharoor has been appointed as the Chairman of the Committee on External Affairs.
The Congress has been given the chairmanship of four key panels. Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi is a member of the Standing Committee on Defence.
Each committee is a combination of Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha members.