Mysuru:  Nearly 50 members of the transgender community, under the banner of Ashodaya Samithi, staged a demonstration in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s Office, here this morning, urging the Union Government to withdraw the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights)  Bill, 2018.

Maintaining that the Bill has disregarded the concerns raised by transgender and gender non-conforming communities, the protestors claimed that the Bill overrides a Supreme Court order which granted self identification for the community.

Asserting that self identification is a complex and personal experience, that is not something to be decided by bureaucrats, the protestors said they strongly oppose the bill which criminalises begging with severe punishment and also incorporates other provisions that are detrimental for the transgender community.