Left MLAs not keen on House panels

kolkata: the government and opposition seem to be heading for a clash on the reconstitution of house standing committees. the assembly’s reforms committee chairman gyan singh sohan pal reportedly threatened to quit after a showdown with chief whip lakshmi dey. during a meeting of the reforms committee, opposition parties suggested recommending setting up of two new house standing committees to look into the affairs of the home and finance departments.both trinamul and the congress members of the reforms committee jointly rooted for this. but chief whip lakhsmi dey reportedly blocked the move. speaking to tnn, dey said that discussions were indeed going on regarding setting up of these two committees. “it has been decided that the matter will be referred to the chief minister before the reforms committee made its recommendation,� dey said. dey’s reservation against setting up home and finance standing committees seems are from an administrative point of view. “at present the work is being done by the estimates committee. if two new standing committees are set up, what will happen to the estimates committee,� dey argued, adding that apart from the public accounts committee, which is a statutory body, constitution of other committees were the prerogative of the state legislature. in fact, west bengal is the only state after kerala which has adopted the committee system as part of its legislative function, dey informed. opposition whip sobhandeb chattopadhyay, however, does not see a problem. “if the estimates committee has no work to do, then let it be so,� he said. opposition mlas point out that apart from dey, bureaucrats are also dead against standing committees on home and finance. “these two committee will no doubt improve legislative control and this is precisely why bureaucrats are resisting such a recommendation,� chattopadhyay added. opposition mlas also feel that apart from bureaucrats, a section of left front mlas and ministers are wary of standing committees on home and finance. “home standing committee members may go to any trouble-spot and summon senior officials later and ask for explanations,� said an opposition mla.