Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar has nominated four women MPs to the panel of Deputy Chairman. 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 Speakers. Among the women to be included in the panel are PT Usha, S. Phangnon Konyak, Dr. Fauzia Khan and Sulta Dev. All women members are first time MPs and Mrs. S. Phangnon Konyak is the first woman to be elected as a Rajya Sabha member from Nagaland.
The details of women nominated in the panel of Vice-Chairmen are as follows-
- PT Usha: She is a Padma Shri awardee and a renowned athlete. He was nominated to Rajya Sabha in July, 2022. She is a member of the Defense Committee, the Consultative Committee of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and the Ethics Committee.
- S. Phangnon Konyak: He is from Bharatiya Janata Party. She is the first woman to be elected as a Rajya Sabha member from Nagaland in April, 2022 and the second woman from the state to be elected to either House of Parliament or the State Legislative Assembly. She is a member of Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture, Consultative Committee of Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region, Committee on Women Empowerment, House Committee and Governing Council of North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences, Shillong.
- Dr. Fauzia Khan: He is from the Nationalist Congress Party. She was elected to the Rajya Sabha in April, 2020.
She is a member of the Committee on Women Empowerment, Committee on Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Consultative Committee of the Ministry of Law and Justice. - Sulta Dev: He is from Biju Janata Dal. She 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.
Besides the above women members, Shri V. Vijayasai Reddy, Shri Ghanshyam Tiwari, Dr. L. Hanumanthaiah and Shri Sukhendu Sekhar Ray have also been nominated to the panel of Vice-Chairmen.
Panel of Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha:
Article 118(1) of the Constitution empowers each House of Parliament to make rules for regulating its procedure and the conduct of its business. Under this provision of the Constitution, the Rajya Sabha adopted rules in the year 1964 to regulate its procedure and the conduct of its business. Under Rajya Sabha rules, the Chairman nominates a panel of Deputy Chairman from among the members who hold office until a new panel of Deputy Chairman is nominated. In the absence of the Speaker or the Deputy Speaker, any one of them can preside over the House. While presiding over the Rajya Sabha, the Deputy Chairman has the same powers as the Chairman.