Shashi Tharoor Flags Concerns Over Transgender Bill, Seeks Wider Consultation

(MENAFN- IANS) New Delhi, March 22 (IANS) Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has raised serious concerns over the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill, 2026, alleging that the proposed changes could dilute key protections and roll back rights recognised by the Supreme Court.

In a lengthy post on X, Tharoor on Sunday said he was closely following legislative developments despite being away from Parliament due to the ongoing Kerala elections. He expressed apprehension over what he described as the manner in which the Bill was introduced, claiming it was tabled without adequate stakeholder consultation.

The Congress MP argued that the amendments appear to depart from the rights-based framework established after the Supreme Court’s 2014 NALSA judgment, which recognised the right to self-perceived gender identity.

According to him, the proposed deletion of Section 4(2) of the 2019 Act and its replacement with a system of medical verification and certification could undermine that principle.

Tharoor said such provisions would effectively allow the State to determine an individual’s gender identity, raising concerns about dignity and personal liberty. He also flagged the revised definition of“transgender person” in the Bill, suggesting it could exclude several gender-diverse identities that were previously recognised under the law.

He further pointed to provisions mandating reporting of gender-affirming surgeries, saying these raise privacy concerns and could lead to the creation of a State registry of sensitive medical information.

Tharoor said such measures may be difficult to reconcile with the Supreme Court’s 2017 Puttaswamy judgment, which affirmed the right to privacy as a fundamental right.

The Congress leader cautioned that the proposed changes could push sections of the transgender community back into“legal invisibility”, especially given their history of marginalisation. He stressed that a Bill with such wide-ranging implications should be referred to a Parliamentary Standing Committee for detailed scrutiny.

Tharoor also questioned the government’s argument that the amendments are aimed at ensuring welfare reaches“real beneficiaries”. He said that narrowing eligibility criteria could leave out genuine beneficiaries and weaken the reach of protections.

He added that instead of expanding safeguards in areas such as employment, healthcare and education, the focus appeared to be on stricter certification mechanisms. He reiterated the need for broader consultation with transgender communities and policy measures such as horizontal reservations to ensure meaningful inclusion.

The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill, 2026, has drawn attention amid ongoing debates on rights, welfare and legal recognition of gender-diverse communities.

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