New Delhi, Mar 25 (PTI) MPs from various opposition parties on Wednesday demanded in the Rajya Sabha that the transgender persons amendment bill should be sent to a parliamentary panel and various stakeholders including transgender people be consulted.
They said that the bill violates basic constitutional rights of transgenders and the Supreme Court judgment which provided them dignity and self-identification.
DMK MP Tiruchi Siva said the bill takes the right of self-identification and forces transgender persons to present themselves before a medical board for gender identification.
“I am voicing for the people who cannot come to Parliament,” Siva said demanding consultation from stakeholders, legal experts, civil society, transgender community as well as a review by a select committee.
TMC MP Saket Gokhale said that only 32,000 transgender persons out of their 5 lakh population (according to 2011 census) have obtained certificates and identity cards under the existing Act.
“They are afraid to come out in the first place,” he said, adding that the amendment will further push them back.
Highlighting their plight, Gokhale said that 31 per cent of transgender people in India have attempted suicide and out of them, 50 per cent were below the age of 20.
“They are attempting suicide because of the discrimination that they are facing everyday,” Gokhale said.
“As if social discrimination wasn’t enough, now the government is going to start discriminating against them,” he added.
CPI (M) MP John Brittas said that while all the other countries are becoming inclusive and trying to embrace this marginalised community, India is going back a century with exclusionary restrictive measures.
“Recently the Supreme Court-appointed Committee conveyed to the government not to proceed with this piece of legislation. What happened to that? Why is it that the government is not considering the request of the Supreme Court-appointed Committee?” Brittas questioned.
AAP MP Sanjay Singh, while participating in the discussion, criticised Modi government’s welfare activities for transgender persons and said that in the year 2021-22, the government allocated Rs 20 crore for their welfare activities but could only spend Rs 1.91 crore.
He added that in 2022-23, the government spent only Rs 12 lakh out of Rs 30 crore of total allocation; in 2023-24, it spent only Rs 6.59 crore out of Rs 52.91 crore; and in 2024-25, it utilised only Rs 5.14 crore out of Rs 68.46 crore.
RJD MP Manoj Kumar Jha urged the government not to amend the self-identification norm in the existing law as it will further burden the already overburdened bureaucracy besides posing other challenges.
Golla Babu Rao from YSR Congress Party and Subhasish Khuntia from BJD seconded with the other Opposition members and demanded that the bill be sent to a parliamentary committee for stakeholders consultation.
On the other hand, NDA MPs M Thambidurai from AIADMK and Medha Vishram Kulkarni from BJP supported the bill calling it a positive step.
Thambidurai said that under the UPA government no legislation was introduced and it was only under the Modi government that efforts were made to protect the rights and interests of the transgender community. PTI JP JP DIV ANU ANU
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.