The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed the controversial Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill by a voice vote amid a walkout by the Opposition, which had sought further consultation to address concerns over its exclusionary nature.
The government displayed unusual alacrity in bringing the transgender bill, which introduces medical determination of gender identity, for discussion by postponing the debate on the finance bill to Wednesday.
Objecting to the rushed passage of the transgender bill, the Opposition had reiterated its demand that it be sent to a standing committee for further consultation.
Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju said: “The finance bill is of great importance, and we wish for the finance minister to provide a comprehensive and thorough response to it."
Party lines were clear with all Opposition parties opposing the bill and the NDA members supporting the bill in the debate, despite many of them ironically using the same logic to opposing ends.
Congress’s S. Jothimani opened the discussion by saying that the transgender bill was not a reform but a "regression". "It takes away what the Constitution and the Supreme Court have already guaranteed.... This regressive bill will take away the rights of the states, which have spent decades sensitising their own people and their bureaucracy," she said.
She added: "It introduced provisions that criminalised so-called forcing someone to present as transgender. These provisions are vague and dangerous and open to misuse… They risk targeting families, community networks and civil society organisations — the very spaces that often provide the only support a transgender person has."
Samajwadi Party’s Anand Bhadauria mentioned references to transgender people in the Ramayana and said: "However, the government led by the BJP has failed to uphold the maryada (moral standards) of Lord Ram. You claim that you are introducing this bill specifically for transgender persons. If this bill is indeed being brought forward for their benefit, then why are they out on the streets in protest against it?"
Telugu Desam Party’s Byreddy Shabari, a physician, defended the bill. “And now that Modiji has brought our Rama back to Ayodhya, I am sure that he will definitely do justice to the people who were blessed by Lord Rama, and to the people who, in turn, bless us,” she said.
“When we are born, doctors determine our sex. And every person sitting here possesses a birth certificate that establishes our sex... and this birth certificate remains in use until the day we die. So, why can't a transgender person have a form of identification?" she added.
NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule questioned the urgency of bringing the bill.
"There's no urgency to bring this bill. We were requesting the government to send it to the standing committee… We don't have gas…. When the world is at war right now, I don't see why this urgency for this bill," she said.
She said she was “alarmed” at Shabari’s speech. “Let me put it on record that nobody can identify a transgender person 100 per cent at birth."
Congress’s R. Sudha said transgender and queer gender was all about feelings and emotions. "The child notices the changes within him or her and realises that he or she is different from others. Their feelings make them set out on a journey towards self-identification. How can a medical board diagnose feelings and emotions?” she said.
The discussion wound up in two and a half hours, with all amendments proposed by the Opposition being defeated by voice votes.
