According to reports, there are around 15,000 transgender people living in Assam and the names of 503 were included in the draft electoral rolls in the state. The revised policy is intended for the welfare of the transgender community in the state
Guwahati: The transgender community in Assam will boycott the Lok Sabha elections if the government doesn’t implement the recently published revised state policy for the development of them in the state.
According to reports, there are around 15,000 transgender people living in Assam and the names of 503 were included in the draft electoral rolls in the state.
The revised policy is intended for the welfare of the transgender community in the state.
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Swati Bidhan Baruah, the first transgender judge of Assam and founder of All Assam Transgender Association (AATA) said that currently there are around 15,000 transgender people living in Assam and 11,000 of them want to get themselves enrolled in the electoral rolls.
“But, if the state government doesn’t take any initiative to implement the revised transgender policy, then the entire community will boycott the Lok Sabha elections,” Swati warned.
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“We registered our protests against the present government about its inaction towards the community and implementing the transgender policy. The government is silent for the past four to five years. After the protests, the government made a revised transgender policy. The transgender community demanded to implement the revised policy as soon as possible. If the government fails to implement the same, as the transgender community is suffering from a lot of problems and fighting for our own existence, then we will boycott the entire Lok Sabha elections,” Swati said.
She further said that the election commission has informed that only 503 transgender people have been enrolled in the electoral rolls.
“But the final list has not been released so far. We are waiting for it and we hope so that the community persons who applied for the inclusion of their names in the voters list will be included. Nearly 15,000 transgender people applied for it through online,” Swati said.
Assam’s 14 Lok Sabha seats will see voting in three phases, April 11, 18 and 28. The results will be announced on May 23.
(The above picture is for representational purpose only)
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