Amid opposition protests, Lok Sabha approves tweaks to transgender bill

NEW DELHI: The Lok Sabha passed the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill 2026 by voice vote despite opposition demands to refer it to a parliamentary standing committee for wider consultations, with the government responding to accusations of “ostracism” saying the changes are aimed at ensuring protection and benefits under the law to bona fide transgender people.The bill is expected to be considered by the federal parliament on Wednesday. The opposition has slammed the government for denying the right to self-determination of gender identity upheld by the Supreme Court in the landmark NALSA judgment. Congress MP S Jothimani initiated the debate from the Opposition side and along with Supriya Sule (NCP-SP), Anand Bhadauria (Samajwadi Party), T. Sumathy (DMK), June Maliah (TMC), Arvind Ganpat Sawant (Shiv Sena UBT), Abhay Kumar Sinha (RJD) and other Congress MPs opposed the legislation.MPs argue the bill was introduced without adequate consultation with the trans community, narrows the definition by excluding self-identified identities and introduces medical boards which would further exclude them and infringe on trans people’s rights. Congress MPs from TDP, (BJP), JD (U) and Shiv Sena supported the bill based on the government’s arguments. Replying to a discussion on the bill, Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Virendra Kumar said that the 2019 law aims to provide protection and welfare to transgender people and the amendments aim to focus on those who face severe social backlash due to their biological conditions.The bill’s statement and objectives state that “the purpose of the bill is to protect a specific group of people socially and culturally known as transgender persons who face extreme and oppressive social discrimination.” It adds, “The purpose was, and is not, to protect every class of people with different gender identities, self-perceived sex/gender identities, or gender fluidity.“In a significant departure from the existing law, the bill proposes to omit the provision allowing “self-perceived gender identity” as the basis for self-determination and identification by the district magistrate in issuing a transgender certificate.The bill introduces provision for a medical board headed by the chief medical officer and henceforth, the district magistrate will issue transgender identity certificate after reviewing the recommendations of the medical board, known as the “authoritative” constituted by the central or state government. The minister defended the tougher sentencing provisions in the bill, saying they were necessary to prevent exploitation, coercion and harm, particularly in cases involving children.