Shashi Tharoor introduces Bill to give reservations to transgenders in government establishments

NEW DELHI: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor introduced a private member’s bill on Friday, proposing a 1 per cent reservation for transgender people across categories in government establishments, including educational institutions. In a post on X, Tharoor said that the bill seeks to amend the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, to provide horizontal reservations for transgender individuals “across the board, to address the severe discrimination faced by such individuals in our society”.

The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill, 2024 includes two key provisions.

Firstly, Section 8A of the Bill mandates that all government establishments reserve at least one per cent of vacancies for transgender persons across various categories, including General, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes.

The bill states that this reservation will apply to positions filled through direct recruitment. If there are not enough transgender applicants, the unfilled vacancies will be allocated to candidates from the same category, whether male or female.

Secondly, the bill seeks to introduce Section 13A, which requires educational institutions funded or recognised by the government to reserve at least one per cent of seats in every class or course for transgender students.

This provision spans all levels of education, from pre-schools to universities, including technical and vocational schools.

This was the first day private member business was taken up in the 18th Lok Sabha.

Private members are permitted to introduce resolutions on issues that are debated by the House and subsequently addressed by the government. Fridays are typically reserved for private members’ business after 3:30 pm, during which MPs discuss bills and resolutions they have introduced on matters they consider important for the country.

Courtesy : TOI

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