New Delhi: The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Monday launched its first LGBT cell in Mumbai.
NCP president Jayant R. Patil along with party MP Supriya Sule inaugurated the cell with an aim to integrate the LGBT community with the mainstream and to provide them with a platform to raise their concerns.
एल.जी.बी.टी समूहाला सामाजिक प्रवाहात सामावून घेण्यासाठी, त्यांच्या प्रश्नांना व्यासपीठ मिळवून देण्यासाठी @NCPspeaks तर्फे एल.जी.बी.टी सेलची स्थापना करण्यात आली असून आज प्रदेशाध्यक्ष ना. @Jayant_R_Patil व खा. @supriya_sule यांच्या उपस्थितीत सेलच्या कार्यकारिणीची घोषणा करण्यात आली. pic.twitter.com/8DtUl7ksFJ
— NCP (@NCPspeaks) October 5, 2020
Speaking to ThePrint, Maharashtra minister and NCP’s Mumbai president Nawab Malik said the main aim of setting up the LGBT wing was to bridge the gap between the demands of the community and the government.
Malik said people in the LGBT community have been asking for separate welfare schemes.
“This wing will address all the social problems of the community… and work together. Further, it will also highlight the various issues the community faces in both urban and rural areas,” he added.
In a press statement, MP Sule said: “We first established a cell for young women and now for the LGBT community. We are the country’s first party to do so. We don’t just pay lip service in speeches, we act.”
Sule’s claim is, however, incorrect as in June this year, the Kerala unit of the Congress had inaugurated its transgenders’ wing.
Kerala: Congress inaugurated its Transgenders' wing (Kerala Pradesh Transgenders' Congress) in Thiruvananthapuram today. pic.twitter.com/LX9tw8grCJ
— ANI (@ANI) June 10, 2020
Also read: Year after homosexuality was decriminalised, equality a distant dream for LGBTQ community
Cell to have 13 office-bearers
During the launch of the cell, Patil said the LGBT community faced education and health problems, and this new cell will help bring them to the mainstream.
“We will continue our efforts to bring them into the mainstream, as promised in the election manifesto of the Nationalist Congress Party. Today, we have taken a step forward to fulfill this promise.”
एल.जी.बी.टी समूहासमोर शिक्षण, आरोग्याच्या अनेक समस्या आहेत. त्यांना मुख्य प्रवाहात आणण्यासाठी आम्ही प्रयत्नशील राहू, असे राष्ट्रवादी काँग्रेसच्या निवडणूक जाहीरनाम्यात आश्वासन देण्यात आले होते. हे वचन पूर्ण करण्यासाठी आज एक पाऊल पुढे टाकले आहे – ना. @Jayant_R_Patil#LGBTCell pic.twitter.com/Dwc5ZzlCiT
— NCP (@NCPspeaks) October 5, 2020
NCP leader and transgender activist Priya Patil has been appointed the LGBT cell’s state unit head. She said the cell will work to ensure that the community members get all their due rights.
Apart from Priya, the LGBT cell will have 13 other office-bearers.
Priya said that in Maharashtra, the LGBT community comprises 10-12 per cent of the population.
“Their issues are not taken care of by the society, but through this cell we will take care of them, and take steps for equality, employment and bring them into the mainstream,” Priya added.
Also read: Acceptance of LGBTQ people has risen worldwide: Pew survey