People's manifesto echoes voice of the unheard

NEW DELHI: Raveen Bariha has fought for the rights of brethren from the transgender community for years under the banner of Mitwa in Chattisgarh and now on the Third Gender Advocacy Forum at the national level. On Thursday when senior BJP leader Sanjay Paswan along with CPI, CPI(M) members lauded the People's Manifesto brought out by civil society organisations led by the Wada Na Todo Abhiyan, which backs the social inclusion of those on the fringes, Bariha felt the efforts of people like her were finally bearing fruit.

Raveena and fellow Mitwa member Veena Sendri were part of the gathering that came together at the launch of the Manifesto here in Delhi. "We never banked on the manifestos of political parties but now we see that concern over our rights and lack of identity is finding space in political discourse. The Congress manifesto mentions a line about empowering us, we are still happy that at least a beginning has been made. CPI and CPM too have created space and that is very heartening. We hope others will follow suit," Bariha said.

The People's Manifesto puts forth the demands of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community strongly: Repeal with immediate effect section 377 of the Indian Penal Code that criminalises homosexuality, create safeguards to protect the LGBT community from cruelty and ensure they lead a life of dignity and equal opportunity, it is stated in the Manifesto. The document advocates that government must provide equal opportunities and entitlements to all sexual minorities and legal, social and economic recognition to the third sex.

The manifesto, put together based on inputs from about 16 lakh people across 250 parliamentary constituencies in 24 states, gives voice to the demands, concerns and aspirations of people across the country ahead of the upcoming elections. A range of issues are covered -- from seeking standards in healthcare to raising funding for education to six percent of GDP, a law on the national housing policy and national rehabilitation policy, the Women's Reservation Bill and a commitment to accountable governance among other things.

Present at an interaction on the Manifesto, BJP's Sanjay Paswan said, "People were saying that the BJP's manifesto is getting delayed but I now say we are going to be the beneficiaries of the inputs in the People's manifesto. The BJP manifesto is certainly going to make room for concerns of the marginalized and also look at ways of increasing the employability of the increasing employable lot."