India, March 26 -- The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday cleared the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill 2026 by voice vote on Wednesday, with social justice and empowerment minister Virendra Kumar hailing it as a symbol of the government's "comprehensive mission to ensure justice to long marginalised sections of society" even as opposition MPs questioned the government's haste to pass the bill and pleaded that it be sent to a standing committee to permit wider community consultation.

The bill was cleared by the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, and will now go to the President for her assent before becoming law.

Since it was tabled in the Lok Sabha on March 13, the bill has been widely panned in demonstrations, public hearings and pre...