Meet Phangnon Konyak, BJP Rajya Sabha MP from Nagaland who has accused Rahul of ‘hurting her dignity’

Konyak claimed in the letter that she was peacefully protesting when suddenly Gandhi along with other Congress members came in front of her despite a separate passage being created for them. “He misbehaved with me in a loud voice and his physical proximity to me was so close that I being a lady member felt extremely uncomfortable. I stepped aside with heavy heart and denouncing my democratic rights but felt that no Member of Parliament should behave this way,” the letter read.

The state president of the Nagaland BJP’s Mahila Morcha, Konyak created history in April 2022, becoming the first woman from Nagaland to enter the Upper House and only the second woman from the state to enter either Houses of Parliament.

In a series of firsts, on July 17 last year, Konyak became the first ever woman member of Rajya Sabha to be appointed to the panel of vice-chairpersons with NCP’s Fauzia Khan, nominated MP PT Usha and Sulata Deo of the BJD and a week later became the first woman from her state to preside over the Upper House.

Immediately after presiding over the Rajya Sabha, she expressed her gratitude on X. “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. Under the visionary leadership of Hon’ble PM Shri @narendramodi Ji, women today are being given due respect and space in politics and leadership. My heartfelt gratitude to most respected Chairman, Rajya Sabha, Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar Ji for this opportunity,” she said in a post.

Hailing from Dimapur, Konyak holds a Masters in English Literature from Delhi University. She has served as 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.