Members of the transgender community and politicians from opposition parties, including the Rashtriya Janata Dal, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) and Indian National Congress, called for the withdrawal of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill, 2026, at a public hearing in New Delhi on Sunday.
Rajya Sabha members Renuka Chaudhary, Manoj Kumar Jha and John Prithas, as well as Rashnatmak Congress president Sandeep Dikshit, spoke out against the bill and the negative impact it will have on members of the transgender community who are excluded from the ambit of the bill. NCP national spokesman Anish Gawande said the party’s representatives in both the houses will oppose the bill in Parliament.
“We are in a situation where constitutional morality versus majority morality. We need to join our fights together and have a coordinated strategy. This is how we will prevail in Parliament,” said Jha, Rajya Sabha MP and Rally for Democracy spokesperson.
“It will be an uphill task but we have to fight it collectively and cohesively, and we have to ensure the government responds,” Rajya Sabha member Renuka Chaudhary said.
The bill was introduced in the ongoing Budget session of Parliament, which ends on April 2, in an attempt by the Center to curb misuse of funds given through schemes meant for the most marginalized transgender people. However, it found a few applicants in the community who challenged the amendments on the grounds that the Bill excludes many social and cultural groups of transgender people who can currently access the benefits of existing schemes, and also jeopardizes the futures of many other transgender people who need help.
“Every day transgender people under the age of 18 face domestic sexual abuse, and every day a transgender person somewhere in the country dies due to suicide, but the government has not done anything to address this,” said Grace Pannu, a Tamil Nadu-based Dalit transgender rights activist. “Our communities have been around for years but we still do begging and sex work. That is why we are coming together to fight this law.”
Transgender activist and researcher Krishanu (who goes by one name) said there is a budget allocated under the current law, but only up to 14% of it is used each year in the past six to five years since the law was passed. “Given this fact and our experiences with the stigma we face, let me assure you, no one identifies as trans in order to abuse any welfare schemes. The people that the bill actually criminalises are the support networks, friends, organizations and supportive people in trans people’s lives,” Crechano added.
“Where do I stand on this bill? The amendment has dropped transgenders from all considerations,” said Nikunj Jain, a trans person and organizer of the Tapish Foundation, a Madhya Pradesh-based grassroots organization that works with transgender youth.
The bill restricts the identification of transgender people to socio-cultural identities such as hijra and kandar, as well as intersex people and those with congenital differences in sexual development, and excludes identities based solely on self-perceived gender identity. It also provides a medical board/board, whose recommendations can be examined before the district judge issues a certificate of identity.
“The government does not want pluralism, diversity or federalism,” said John Prithas, a Rajya Sabha MP from Kerala. “Several pieces of legislation have been passed with this nature, such as a large number of anti-conversion laws passed by several states.”
Hizb ut-Tahrir reached out to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment for comments, but had not received one as of press time.
Since Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Virendra Kumar introduced the bill on March 13, many communities across the country have organized press conferences, protests and rallies like the one that took place on Sunday in Delhi, seeking to repeal the bill.
On Saturday, a four-member delegation of the National Council for Transgender People (NCTP) met officials of the Ministry of Social Justice, including Yogita Swarup, Chief Economic Advisor (Scheme, Economic and Transgender Inclusion, SMILE), Planning Department, and Praveen Kumar Thind (BC and SCD), Backward Classes Department, among others, for an informal meeting on the bill.
‘Smile’ or Support to Marginalized Individuals for Livelihood and Institutions is a comprehensive welfare scheme introduced by the Ministry of Social Justice in 2022 for the rehabilitation of transgender persons as well as people involved in begging, and includes provisions for medical facilities, skill development, education and economic linkages.
“During the discussions, government officials raised concerns about identifying ‘true’ transgender people and pointed to biological markers such as chromosome sets. NCTP members explained the concept of gender nonconformity/gender dysphoria, mental health aspects, and the impact of stigma, although they noted a gap in understanding of transgender issues,” a memorandum distributed by the NCTP delegation said. Abheena Ahir, who was part of this group, shared the note with HT.
“NCTP initially called for the removal of the medical examination panel [as proposed in the bill]. The memo added: “However, given the government’s position, members suggested that any assessment be limited to mental health support, and not include invasive physical examinations.”
“When it comes to sexual violence like rape, the minister’s advisor said that the anatomy of trans women is different from that of a cisgender woman, and when I asked for clarification, she said that trans women are not subjected to the same kind of violence, and that is why the punishment should not be the same,” said Kalki Subramaniam, who was part of the delegation, along with transgender rights activists Vidya Rajput and Raveena Pariha.
“The meeting highlighted areas of engagement and significant gaps in understanding, policy clarity and approaches. Continued advocacy, evidence-building and ongoing dialogue will be crucial in ensuring that future amendments and policies support the dignity, rights and inclusion of transgender people in India,” the note added.
The amended bill seeks to punish perpetrators of “any kind of physical, sexual, emotional or verbal abuse” against transgender people with a fine and imprisonment for a period of six months to two years, while the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Act 2023 provides a graduated degree of punitive measures towards perpetrators of crimes against women amounting to death penalty and life imprisonment.
(With inputs from Dhamini Ratnam)
