Rare show of solidarity as Tharoor is removed as chairman of parliamentary panel on communication

While Chidambaram belongs to Congress and Sumathy represents the party’s principal ally in Tamil Nadu, the DMK, Brittas is a nominee of the CPI(M), an arch-rival of the Congress in Kerala. In West Bengal, Moitra’s TMC is at loggerheads with the Congress.

Praising Tharoor, they wrote to the Speaker that the committee under him was always proactive in “conducting frequent meetings, resulting in concrete actions, both during the parliamentary sessions as well as the inter-session period”.

They also said the panel was always ahead compared to many other standing committees.

What the letter said

“It comes to us as an utter shock that the chairmanship of our committee was changed in the middle of the 17th Lok Sabha. The allocation of the committee is generally decided at the convening of a fresh Lok Sabha, and this remains the case until it is dissolved, barring certain exceptional circumstances,” the members reminded the Speaker in the letter.

They said Tharoor’s leadership had won the panel high regard across the political spectrum. They also recalled the committee’s stellar performance in ensuring consultative deliberation by regularly engaging with domain experts, government officials, and multiple stakeholders.

On issues of emerging technology and its repercussions on citizens, the committee has evolved consensus across political parties, the members recalled.

“Shouldering the responsibility to further the cause of citizen’s data and privacy, Tharoor has not missed a single occasion to critically engage the Committee on IT with issues of supreme importance. Withdrawal of the allocation role will be immensely unfortunate for the IT Committee, which believes in strengthening democracy at a time when technology is enmeshed with freedom of expression, rightful criticism and citizen’s safety and welfare,” they stated in the letter.

They urged Birla to reconsider and withdraw the decision and restore the position to Tharoor.

Sharing their letter on Twitter, Tharoor said he was dismayed by the government’s unusual decision to change a chairman midway through the 17th Lok Sabha.

“Parliamentary democracy is ill-served by such intolerance,” said Tharoor, who is all set to contest the Congress president’s election.

Thank you, Sumathy @ThamizhachiTh, @AnilagrwalMPBJP, @JohnBrittas, @KartiPC & @MahuaMoitra for this kind act of solidarity. I’m dismayed by theGovt’s unusual decision to change a Chairman midway through the 17th LokSabha. Parliamentary democracy is ill-served by such intolerance. https://t.co/0JVaJ2AY0K

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) September 24, 2022

Karti Chidambaram’s take

When asked about the presence of the BJP Rajya Sabha member among the signatories, Chidambaram said it speaks of the kind of leadership Tharoor provided to the committee.

“The members have risen above party politics to stand with Tharoor, who ably guided the committee and gave it a sense of direction,” said Chidambaram. He also termed Tharoor’s removal as “unfortunate and extraordinary”.

“The IT Committee has been proactive, and we have been standing for individual liberty and privacy. The BJP government, on the other hand, is keen on spying on the people. So the viewpoints of the committee and the BJP may be different. I don’t know if this is the reason. I can only speculate,” Chidambaram told South First.

In a similar letter to the Speaker, Congress’ Lok Sabha leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury noted that the IT Committee was the only departmentally-related standing committee assigned to the Congress party.

He wanted a repeal of the move based on well-established parliamentary conventions and ensuring honourable treatment of the principal Opposition party.

Why BJP is miffed with Tharoor

In the meantime, there is no official confirmation that another Opposition member will head the panel.

Though the BJP has cited the decrease in the number of Congress Rajya Sabha members as the reason for Tharoor’s removal, political observers are finding another context for the move.

Barring Aggrawal, the BJP members of the committee were often at loggerheads with Tharoor.

In July 2022, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey moved a privilege motion against Tharoor, pushing for his removal from the committee. He had accused Tharoor of “discriminatory use of his position”.

However, the committee performed its role exceptionally during the Pegasus controversy and when Twitter faced data privacy breach allegations.