-The Hindu The provisions that empower the government to carry out such an exercise smack of arbitrariness On November 20, 2019 the Union Home Minister, Mr. Amit Shah, answered a starred question in the Rajya Sabha thus: “Preparation of National Register of Indian Citizens (NRIC) is governed by the provisions of Section 14A of The Citizenship Act, 1955 and The Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules 2003....

-The Indian Express Transgender Persons Bill has let down the community’s long struggle for self respect. The passage of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2019, has caused great disapointment to the transgender community in India that had urged the Rajya Sabha to refer the Bill to a select committee. The Bill failed to incorporate crucial recommendations of the Parliament Standing Committee and several depositions by the transgender and intersex community....

-The Hindu Such an ambiguity has serious implications for the design and beneficiaries of schemes meant to help them Who is a farmer? What is the government’s definition of a farmer and how many farmers are there in India by that definition? Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar failed to answer that question when it was asked in Parliament last week. The government’s ambiguity has serious implications for the design and beneficiaries of the...

-The Hindu Does the Bill address issues of gender and identity? Does it consider the appeals and the concerns of the community? The story so far: Parliament has made into law the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2019, which had been framed for the welfare of transgender persons. The Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha on August 5 this year, a month after its introduction in the House, and the...

-Press release by National Alliance of Peoples' Movements  dated 28 November, 2019 In yet another of its egregious legislative misadventures, the BJP Government with support from some other parties, passed the regressive 'Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights)' Bill, in the Rajya Sabha yesterday, despite wide-spread opposition by members of the transgender, intersex and gender non-confirming communities, seeking referral of the Bill to a Select Committee. We have all been witness to...