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Activist and member of the National Council for Transgender Persons (NCTP), Kalki Subramaniam has resigned from her position. She has cited the Union government’s failure to consult community representatives on the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill, 2026, which was cleared by Parliament on Wednesday, March 25.
In a resignation letter addressed to Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Virendra Kumar, Kalki said she was stepping down “with a heavy heart, yet a clear conscience,” from her role as Southern region representative of the statutory body.
The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill, 2026, passed by both Houses of Parliament, has drawn sustained criticism from Opposition parties and sections of the transgender community. The legislation significantly alters the 2019 law by narrowing the legal definition of a transgender person and removing the right to self-perceived gender identity.
Kalki said the bill, in its current form, is widely viewed as “regressive” by the community. “I have spent the last several weeks in constant dialogue with the transgender and intersex communities… The consensus is absolute: this Bill is seen as a step backward for our fundamental rights to self-identification and dignity,” she stated.
She expressed gratitude for the opportunity to serve, noting that her engagement with the Ministry until February 2026 was marked by “mutual respect and a shared vision for an inclusive India.” However, she said the recent passage of the amendment bill in the Parliament without consulting NCTP members had created an “untenable position.”
“As a statutory representative, my primary mandate is to advise the Government on legislation affecting our lives. The decision to move this Bill forward without any formal consultation… undermines the very purpose for which this Council was established,” she wrote.
The bill restricts recognition to individuals with specific biological or physiological characteristics, intersex variations, or socio-cultural identities such as kinner, hijra, aravani and jogta, excluding trans men, trans women and genderqueer persons previously recognised under the 2019 Act. It also introduces mandatory medical evaluation and certification for legal gender recognition, departing from the self-identification principle upheld by the Supreme Court in the landmark NALSA judgement.
Concerns have also been raised about provisions that mandate disclosure of medical information to authorities, potentially violating privacy, and clauses that could criminalise informal support systems such as chosen families and community shelters that have historically supported transgender persons
Opposition leaders have criticised the bill as exclusionary and contrary to constitutional principles, arguing that it undermines judicial guidance and marginalises already vulnerable communities. The bill also introduces graded punishments, increasing the maximum penalty for offences against transgender persons to 14 years, while limiting its applicability to a narrowly defined group.
Explaining her decision, Kalki said she could not continue in a role where “our collective voice has been silenced on a matter of such existential importance.” “My first and final loyalty lies with the people I represent… To remain in this post while a Bill they so vehemently oppose is passed would be a dissolution of my integrity and a betrayal of their trust,” she wrote.
Declaring solidarity with the transgender community, she concluded her letter with lines from her poem The War, underscoring the ongoing struggle for “dignity and respect… for every silenced voice, against an unequal world.”
The bill now awaits the assent of President Droupadi Murmu to become law..