Members of India's transgender community and politicians from opposition parties have called for the withdrawal of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill, 2026, at a public hearing in New Delhi.
The bill, introduced in the ongoing budget session of Parliament, aims to curb the misuse of funds granted by schemes meant for the most marginalized transgender people.
However, the community has challenged the amendments, saying they leave out several socio-cultural groups of transgender persons and jeopardize the future of others in need of help.
Activists and politicians from the Rashtriya Janata Dal, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Nationalist Congress Party, and Indian National Congress spoke out against the bill, saying it will have a negative impact on the transgender community.
Rajya Sabha members Renuka Chowdhury, Manoj Kumar Jha, and John Brittas, as well as Rachnatmak Congress chairperson Sandeep Dikshit, expressed their opposition to the bill.
The amendment bill restricts the definition of transgender persons to socio-cultural identities such as hijra and kinnar, as well as intersex persons and those with congenital variations of sexual development, and excludes identities based solely on self-perceived gender identity.
Transgender activists and researchers have criticized the bill, saying it will lead to the criminalization of support networks, friends, organizations, and supportive people in transgender people's lives.
A delegation of four members of the National Council of Transgender Persons met social justice ministry officials for an informal meeting on the bill, but a gap in understanding of transgender issues was observed.
The amendment bill seeks to punish perpetrators of "any kind of physical, sexual, emotional or verbal abuse" against transpersons with a fine and between six months and two years of imprisonment.
