Transgender bill delayed as govt wants a relook

The Centre’s move to bring a transgenders bill, which seeks to provide recognition and rights to the “marginalised” community, may get delayed as it has decided to go back to the drawing board regarding various aspects related to the rights of transgenders.

According to sources privy to the development, one of the main issues which have forced the Centre to have a relook at the proposed legislation is that if transgenders decide to contest elections in future under the “fem-ale” category, then how would the proposed legislation address it. This and other aspects which raise a lot of questions regarding their enhan-ced role in mainstream society, have led the government to reassess the nature of the bill.

In April, while participating in a discussion in Lok Sabha on a private member bill on “Rights of Transgender Persons” — which incidentally had been cleared by the Rajya Sabha last year — social justice and empowerment minister Thaawarchand Gehlot had said that the government has finalised the framework of a bill of its own and a cabinet note has already been circulated regarding this.

He had also indicated that the Union Cabinet would soon take up the draft bill, as the private member bill passed by the Rajya Sabha had some procedural difficulties and the government has also filed a review petition on it in the Supreme Court.

Now it seems that once the government started work on its own bill, it encountered similar issues. In fact, informed sources conceded that the entire process of drafting a new bill on the sensitive matter was a “hurried exercise” and therefore now several jarring aspects are being looked into.

Even as the government is trying to frame its own transgenders’ rights bill, the private member bill on the community’s rights was passed last year by Rajya Sabha.