Biplab Kumar Deb heads LS panel to sanction leave of MPs

New Delhi, Feb 25, 2025, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

New Delhi, Feb 25: BJP MP and former Tripura chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb will head a 15-member committee constituted by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to review the leave applications of House members regarding their absence from proceedings.

Other members are Saumitra Khan, Gyaneshwar Patil, Jai Prakash, Gopal Thakur, Mansukhbhai Vasava (all BJP), Anand Bhadauria (SP), Asit Kumar Mal (Trinamool), Gowaal Padavi, V K Sreekandan, and Prashant Padole (Congress), Amra Ram (CPI-M), Kesineni Sivanath (TDP) and Nalin Soren (JMM).

The panel was constituted as the Punjab and Haryana High Court was hearing a petition filed by Lok Sabha member Amritpal Singh, who is detained under the National Security Act since 2023 in Dibrugarh jail in Assam.

He has sought permission to attend the ongoing Parliament session, contending that he stood to lose his membership of the Lok Sabha if he remained absent from the House for 60 days.

The second part of the Budget session will commence on March 10 and conclude on April 4.