If the Rights to Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2014 is passed in the winter session of Parliament without incorporating certain changes, it will defeat the purpose for which it was created, say members of the Disability Rights Alliance, Tamil Nadu.
Based on a press release issued by the Press Information Bureau on December 1 on the key provisions of the Bill, the DRA demanded certain changes and is also planning to ask Members of Parliament to incorporate these.
“If the Bill is the same as it was in 2014, then restrictions faced by persons with disabilities that exist now, such as not being able to enter into contracts, not being able to open bank accounts or even marry, will continue to exist, as the Bill has provisions for guardians and joint decision-making,” said B. Meenakshi, a member of DRA. This amounted to diluting legal capacity and could not be accepted, she said.
Another problem, she said, was that a section of the 2014 Bill states that no person with disability shall be discriminated on the ground of disability, unless it is shown that the impugned act or omission is appropriate to achieve a legitimate aim. “What is legitimate aim? That clause is so vague that it could be applicable to a number of situations — what if the legitimate aim consisted of putting a person with mental illness in a closed ward for instance, or if barriers in the environment were used to isolate persons with disabilities?,” she asked.
Another amendment sought is the inclusion of all children — even those with high support needs and those below the disability benchmark — to have free education on an equal basis.
Vaishnavi Jayakumar, another member, said, “We have been fighting for transparency and to be involved in the process for 8 years now. But, it does not look like the Bill will achieve the aims we wanted it to,” she said.
