Headlines
equal rights for Transgenders
"It
is a unanimous decision of the house... This is a rare thing," Rajya
Sabha Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien announced after the bill was passed by
voice vote.
The central government, however, said it will bring
an improved bill as DMK member Tiruchi Shiva's bill has some practical
difficulties.
The government sources told IANS that they will bring a bill soon.
The transgender community, meanwhile, said it was happy to receive a "positive response" from all political parties.
The
Rights of Transgender Persons Bill, 2014, moved by Shiva, calls for
equal rights and reservation to transgenders and envisages creation of a
national commission and state level commissions for transgender
communities.
"We all have human rights, whatever our gender
identity. The bill I have presented is for an act which will create an
equal society as it recognises and protects transgender persons, in all
spheres of life," Shiva said while moving the bill.
Talking to
IANS later, the DMK member said: "Transgenders are as efficient as any
one else. One transgender person asked me I pay my taxes, why don't I
have the rights?"
"Imagine they have gender written as female in their I-cards, but they cannot enter women's compartment in trains," he said.
The bill will now have to be taken up in the Lok Sabha, where a member from the lower house will have to pilot the bill.
If the bill is passed, it will be sent for presidential assent and become an act thereafter.
"The
procedure for a private member's bill is same as any other bill. It
will now go to the Lok Sabha, and if it is passed there, it will go to
the president. If president signs it, it will become an act,"
constitutional expert and former Lok Sabha secretary general Subhash C.
Kashyap told IANS.
A senior minister told IANS: "Wide
consultation is needed with different departments and ministries. There
are many issues, for example if reservation is provided, how will it
effect other reservations..."
In the Rajya Sabha, as Shiva
pushed for putting the bill to vote, Social Justice and Empowerment
Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot said the government was in consultation
with several departments to formulate a law for the transgenders and
urged him to withdraw the bill.
"Emotionally, I agree with
Shiva's bill, but there are some technical problems... There is some
impracticality in the bill," he said. Shiva, however, remained adamant
to put the bill to vote.
After an intervention by Leader of the
House Arun Jaitley, who advocated for unanimously passing the bill, it
was adopted through voice vote.
The transgender community welcomed it.
"The
bill received support from all political parties and this shows how
they have become sensitive towards our issues and difficulties. I am
sure it will smoothly pass in the Lok Sabha as well," Reshma, a
transgender from Patna, told IANS by phone.
Mumbai-based Gauri
Sawant, a transgender, felt if the bill is passed in parliament
smoothly, it will reinforce their identity in the country and also help
them to get rid of the stigma.
Members of parliament other than
ministers are called private members and bills presented by them are
known as private members' bills.
Figures show since independence only 14 private members' bills have been converted into legislative acts.
The
last private member's bill passed by parliament was the Supreme Court
(Enlargement of Criminal Appellate Jurisdiction) Bill, 1968, which
became an act on August 9, 1970.