Parliament Budget Session LIVE: Lok Sabha passes Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill, 2026

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday (March 24, 2026) said the government’s Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill, 2026 is a “brazen attack” on the constitutional rights and identity of transgender persons and asserted that his party strongly opposes the proposed legislation.

The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha called the bill “reactionary” and alleged that the BJP-led government at the Center was violating the Constitution and destroying India’s rich history of honoring transgender communities in pursuit of its narrow ideas.

“The BJP government’s Transgender Persons Amendment Bill is a brazen attack on the Constitutional rights and identities of transgender persons. This regressive law strips transgender persons of their ability to self-identify in violation of the Supreme Court order; dismantles the diverse cultural identities of communities across India, forces transgender persons to submit to inhumane examinations by a medical board, and imposes criminal penalties and insecure custody,” he said.

He alleged that the BJP government did not consult the transgender community and did not introduce a bill that stigmatized rather than protected them.

– PTI