Who is Phangnon Konyak, First Woman MP From Nagaland To Preside Over Rajya Sabha? 5 Points

In April 2022, Ms Konyak became the first woman to be elected to the Rajya Sabha from Nagaland and the second woman from the state to be elected to the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha or the state Assembly. She followed Rano M Shaiza, who was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1977. 

Ms Konyak hails from Dimapur in Nagaland, where she completed her schooling. She then moved to Delhi, where she pursued a Master's Degree in English Literature from Daulat Ram College, which is affiliated to the University of Delhi. 

In a tweet after presiding over the Rajya Sabha, the BJP MP said, "Immensely privileged, humbled and overwhelmed to preside over the Rajya Sabha today. Happy that it was a productive one with The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Fifth Amendment) Bill, 2022, having been passed by the House."

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

The BJP MP was nominated to the panel of vice-chairpersons with Fauzia Khan of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), nominated MP PT Usha and Sulata Deo of the Biju Janata Dal. All four of them are first-term parliamentarians. The panel had four male members, bringing the strength of women to 50%.