The third largest largest party in the Rajya Sabha, TMC, has refused to chair the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Papers Laid on the Table (COPLOT), saying the offer is like "crumbs of tokenism", sources said on Monday.
According to the sources, the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) was offered to chair the panel by the Rajya Sabha Secretariat as the party has not been given chairmanship of any committee of the Upper House.
The panel on Transport, Tourism and Culture, which was headed by TMC's Derek O Brien previously and had strongly objected to the government's move to disinvest national carrier Air India, is now chaired by a BJP MP.
The TMC, despite being the third largest party, has not been given any Rajya Sabha committee to head, whereas parties like the YSRCP and the TRS, which have fewer MPs, head important panels.
"Offers (like these) are crumbs of tokenism... The All India Trinamool Congress refuses to accept the chairmanship," the TMC said in a letter written to the ...
