BJP’s S.Phangnon Konyak became the first woman member from Nagaland to preside over Rajya Sabha. 

She is also the first woman to be elected to Rajya Sabha from Nagaland (April 2022) and the second woman from the state to be elected to either house of the Parliament or the state Assembly.

Panel of vice-chairpersons

• As per Rajya Sabha rules, “The chairman shall, from time to time, nominate from amongst the members of the Council a panel of not more than six vice-chairmen, one of whom may preside over the Council in the absence of the chairman and the deputy chairman when so requested by the chairman, or in his absence, by the deputy chairman.”

• A vice-chairperson nominated under sub-rule (1) shall hold office until a new panel of vice-chairperson is nominated, the rules say.

• Last week, Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar reconstituted the panel of vice- chairpersons of the Parliament’s Upper House with half of them being women.

• The House members are informed that the panel of vice-chairpersons has been reconstituted with effect from July 17, 2023.

• Among the Rajya Sabha members who are the new vice-chairpersons are P.T.Usha, S. Phangnon Konyak, Fauzia Khan, Sulata Deo, V.Vijaysai Reddy, Ghanshyam Tiwari, L. Hanumanthaiah and Sukhendu Sekhar Ray.

• Usha, a Padma Shri awardee and a renowned athlete, was nominated to Rajya Sabha in July 2022.

• Fauzia Khan, who belongs to the Nationalist Congress Party, was elected to the Rajya Sabha in April 2020, while Sulata Deo from Biju Janata Dal was elected to the Upper House in July 2022.

• Incidentally, all the women members nominated to the panel are first term parliamentarians.

• 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.

Additional read:

Rajya Sabha and law making

The origin of Rajya Sabha can be traced back to 1919, when in pursuance to the Government of India Act, 1919, a second chamber known as the Council of States was created. This Council of States, comprising mostly nominated members, was a deformed version of the second chamber without reflecting true federal features. The Council continued to function till India became independent.

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