India, Oct. 6 -- The Trinamool Congress (TMC) lost chairperson berths in a reshuffle of Parliamentary standing committees on Saturday. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s Sudhanshu Trivedi was named commerce committee head, and rebel TMC leader Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar was made chairperson of the chemicals and fertilisers panel. Dastidar is considered the face of the TMC rebel faction, which claimed to have merged with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI). The merger is pending before Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. Dastidar spoke to HT about her new role as House panel head. Edited excerpts:

Your group wants recognition as NCPI. But you will lead the chemicals and fertilizers panel as a TMC member of Parliament (MP)...

Chairpersons of 16...