Phangnon Konyak becomes first woman member from Nagaland to preside over Rajya Sabha

New Delhi: Days after being nominated to the panel of Vice-Chairpersons of Rajya Sabha, the first woman member from Nagaland Phangnon Konyak on Tuesday presided over the House proceedings.

She was in the Chair when the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Fifth Amendment) Bill, 2022 was passed.

In a move to bring about gender equality, Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar last week nominated four women members (50% of the total number) to the panel of Vice-Chairpersons.

All women members nominated to the panel are first term Parliamentarians.

"The panel reconstituted before the Monsoon Session contains a total of eight names, out of which half are women. This is the first time in the history of the Upper House that equal representation has been given to women members in the panel of Vice-Chairpersons," said a media release from the Vice President's Office.

Phangnon Konyak belongs to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and is the first woman to be elected as Member of Rajya Sabha from Nagaland in April, 2022. She is the second woman from the State to be elected to either House of the Parliament or the State Assembly.

Konyak is a member of Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture, Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region, Committee on Empowerment of Women, House Committee and Member, Governing Council of the North-Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences, Shillong.

Other women members appointed to the panel of Vice-Chairpersons in Rajya Sabha are P.T. Usha, Dr. Fauzia Khan and Sulata Deo. (UNI)