Parliament clears Transgender Bill amid an uproar

The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday (March 25, 2026) passed the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill, a day after the Lok Sabha cleared the legislation. The Opposition had demanded the Bill should be sent to a select committee of the House for further scrutiny, as it had provisions that would have an impact on the dignity of third-gender people.

Union Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Virendra Kumar, countering the Opposition’s charges against the Bill, said it is an effort to take along all segments of the society together. He said the Bill will ensure protection to only those who face discrimination due to biological issues and added that transgender people will continue to get legal recognition and protection.

“The Narendra Modi government is committed to protecting all those people who are suffering due to biological reasons,” he said, adding that transgender welfare boards have been set up in over 30 States. “This Bill will bring administrative clarity and protect the rights of transgender persons,” he said, adding: “This Bill is not merely a legal reform but a pathway to justice for those who have long faced social exclusion and discrimination due to their identity.”

Takes away rights: DMK

DMK MP Tiruchi Siva argued that the amendments take away the right of self-identification and force transgender persons to present themselves before a medical board for gender identification. “I am voicing for the people who cannot come to Parliament,” Mr. Siva said and demanded that the Bill must be sent to a select committee for consultation with all stakeholders, legal experts, civil society and the transgender community.

Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale said that only 32,000 transgender persons out of their five lakh population (according to the 2011 Census) have obtained certificates and identity cards so far under the existing Act. “They are afraid to come out in the first place,” he said. Mr. Gokhale said that 31% of transgender people in India have attempted suicide and out of them, 50% were below the age of 20. “They are attempting suicide because of the discrimination that they are facing everyday,” the MP said, adding that as if social discrimination were not enough, now the government is going to “start discriminating” against them.

Mr. Gokhale went on to allege that policies like this amendment Bill are being brought forward because the “government looks to the U.S. for making laws”, adding that the government in India wants to “be unwoke like U.S. President Donald Trump”. 

Exclusionary measure: CPI(M)

The CPI(M) MP John Brittas said the new legislation is an exclusionary restrictive measure. “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?” Mr. Brittas asked.