New Delhi, 25 July (Hindustan Times). Nagaland’s first woman Rajya Sabha member S. Phangnon Konyak presided over the House on Tuesday. Earlier, on July 17, she created history by becoming the first woman member from Nagaland to be appointed to the panel of Vice-Chairmen.
Phangnon Konyak thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar for this achievement. He said in a tweet message that I am feeling extremely proud, humbled and overwhelmed while presiding over the Rajya Sabha today. Glad it has come to fruition with the passage of the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Fifth Amendment) Bill, 2022 by the House. Today, under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, women are being given due respect and place in politics and leadership. My heartfelt gratitude to Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar for this opportunity.
It may be noted that bringing gender equality, Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar last week on July 20 nominated four women members (50 per cent of the total strength) to the panel of Deputy Chairman.
It is also noteworthy that all the women members named in the panel are first time MPs. The reconstituted panel ahead of the monsoon session has a total of eight names, half of whom are women. This is the first time in the history of the Upper House that women members have been given equal representation in the Deputy Speaker’s panel.
The eight-member panel now has four women members, including Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs PT Usha and S. Phangnon Konyak, Nationalist Congress Party MP Fauzia Khan and Biju Janata Dal MP Sulta Dev.
S. Phangnon Konyak is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the first woman from Nagaland to be elected as a Rajya Sabha member in April, 2022. She is the second woman from the state to be elected to either house of the Parliament or the State Legislative Assembly.
Whereas PT Usha is a Padma Shri awardee and a renowned athlete. He was nominated to the Rajya Sabha in July, 2022. She is a member of the Committee on Defence, Consultative Committee and Ethics Committee of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. She is a member of Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture, Consultative Committee of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region, Committee on Women Empowerment, Member of House Committee and Governing Council of North-Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences, Shillong.
Dr. Fauzia Khan belongs to the Nationalist Congress Party and was elected to the Rajya Sabha in April, 2020. She is a member of the Committee on Women Empowerment, Consultative Committee on Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Ministry of Law and Justice. Sulta Dev is from Biju Janata Dal and was elected to Rajya Sabha in July, 2022. She is a member of Committee on Industries, Committee on Women Empowerment, Joint Committee on Office of Profit, Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) Committee and Consultative Committee of the Ministry of Women and Child Development.
