The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill, 2026, by a voice vote, rejecting all amendments.The Bill proposes to change the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill-2019 and remove the provision of “self-perceived gender identity”. As per the new Bill, the gender recognition for a transgender person will now depend on medical verification rather than self-identification.Replying to the discussion that lasted for two and a half hours, Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Virendra Kumar said the approach had been to provide the transgender community with the legal protection they deserve and emphasised the need to ensure that no citizen of the country was discriminated against. He added that the transgender community would receive legal protection through the Bill.The minister assured the members that the law was aimed solely at protecting individuals who face severe social exclusion due to their biological status. Under the proposed amendment, following the recommendation of a medical board, the District Magistrate will issue a certificate of recognition for a person as a transgender individual.Before the legislation was moved in the Lower House, the Opposition had urged the government not to pass the Bill in a hurry and send it to a select committee. They also alleged that the Bill was not discussed with the stakeholders, before bringing it in Parliament.Initiating the debate S Jothimani of the Congress strongly opposed the Bill. She said the Bill was brought without prior consultation with the transgender persons and other stakeholders. She said the Bill was not a reform as it was taking away what the Constitution and the Supreme Court have already guaranteed. Other Opposition parties, including the DMK, RJD, Samajwadi Party and the Trinamool Congress, also opposed the Bill.Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi slammed the Bill in a post on X, calling it a “brazen attack on the constitutional rights and identity of transgender people”. He described the Bill as “regressive” and claimed that it would strip transgender individuals of their right to self-identify, violating a Supreme Court judgment. He also accused the government of not consulting the transgender community and introducing a Bill that stigmatises rather than protects them.Transgender activists and students have also demanded its rollback, saying the amendment scraps the principle of self-identification of gender and could push back past protections gained after great struggles.The Union Cabinet had cleared the Bill on March 11. It states that a transgender person “shall not include, nor shall ever have been so included, persons with different sexual orientations and self-perceived sexual identities”.The proposed legislation emphasises the need for a clear definition to ensure proper identification and protection of transgender persons so that they can fully access the benefits provided under existing laws.