The Lok Sabha passed the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill 2026, amending the 2019 Act. Opposition MPs walked out, accusing the Centre of ‘bulldozing’ the bill which alters the definition of transgender persons.
Congress MP Manickam Tagore on Tuesday said that the Centre “bulldozed” the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill 2026, amending the original 2019 Act. The Opposition MPs demanded that the Bill be referred to the Select Committee.
Today, the Lok Sabha passed the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill 2026. The Bill alters the definition of transgender person. The definition includes a person having such socio-cultural identities as kinner, hijra, etc, or a person with intersex variations or a person who, at birth, has a congenital variation in sex characteristics. The Bill also includes transgender persons coerced into their gender identity by any sort of force; however, it excludes people who “self-perceive” as transgender persons, as Section 3 of the Amendment Bill omits Section 4(2) of the 2019 Act.
Opposition Slams ‘Bulldozing’ of Bill
Manickam Tagore asked for consultation with the stakeholders and said that the amendment in the definition goes against the NALSA judgement. The Congress MP told ANI, “It is very sad that the government bulldozed this bill. In the BAC, we also asked for the bill to be referred to the Select Committee. All the opposition leaders, Congress, NCP, TMC, DMK, all of us demanded that it should be referred to the select committee for further consultation. The stakeholders should be heard.”
“The definition is being changed. It’s a major thing against the Supreme Court judgment, and therefore, we wanted the government to be more sensitive towards this kind of bill. The government tried to bulldoze it, all the opposition parties, 240 MPs of the opposition, walked out of the parliament in the Lok Sabha, and we opposed it. The minister’s reply was completely illogical, and he was not at all giving a speech to convince the members; he was only giving an election speech. Therefore, we were not satisfied, and we walked out of the Lok Sabha,” he added.
Congress MP Mallu Ravi also criticised the government, saying that the Bill impacts the existence of transgender persons in the country. “Most of those who have been ignored and disrespected are transgender persons. Now this bill will impact their very existence, giving them even more trouble. That’s why we are opposing this bill. I request the government to nominate a transgender person as an MLA in the legislative assemblies. Also nominate a transgender MP in Parliament so that they can raise their voice in the state and in India as well,” Ravi said.
Samajwadi Party MP Anand Bhadoriya said, “This is a complete betrayal of the transgender community; they were opposing it. All opposition members inside the House urged that this bill be sent to the Standing Committee. This bill is against a section of society. The apprehensions they have will, somewhere down the line, prove to be true in the times to come. The government gave no satisfactory response in the House, so the entire opposition has staged a walkout.”
BJP Criticises Opposition Walkout
Meanwhile, BJP MP Hemang Joshi said that the Opposition MPs should have put their views on the Bill forward instead of staging a walkout. The BJP leader said, “The opposition has developed a bad habit of opposing everything, even when it comes to matters in the interest of society. This Bill was one that everyone should have unanimously supported. The opposition did put forward their points and when it came to voting, they walked out. Today, this bill has been passed unanimously.”
Details of the Amendment Bill
According to the statement of the objects and reasons for the bill, it is the legislative policy to recognise a specific class of transgender persons, who face social issues and to create a regime for their protection. The legislative policy was and is intended to protect only those who face severe social exclusion due to biological reasons for no fault of their own and no choice of their own.
The definition of a transgender person as per the Bill reads, “a person having such socio-cultural identities as kinner, hijra, aravani and jogta, or eunuch, or a person with intersex variations specified below or a person who, at birth, has a congenital variation in one or more of the following sex characteristics as compared to male or female development:– (a) primary sexual characteristics; (b) external genitalia; (c) chromosomal patterns; (d) gonadal development; (e) endogenous hormone production or response, or such other medical conditions.”
The Bill also includes transgender persons coerced into their gender identity by any sort of force. The amendments empower the District Magistrate to issue a certificate of identity after taking the assistance of other medical experts, if needed. (ANI)
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)