With the winter session of Parliament set to end on December 16, differently abled persons today held a march here appealing Parliamentarians to set aside their differences and pass the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill.
Many differently abled persons and members of groups for the disabled gathered at Jantar Mantar and held a march up to Parliament Street.
"The Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Bill was taken up for consideration and passing in Rajya Sabha on December 2. Since then it has been continuously deferred due disruptions in Parliament on the issue of demonetisation.
"The RPwD Bill is a non-controversial and a non-political issue. We appeal to the Rajya Sabha members to please just give a minute to grant us our rights," Javed Abidi, director of the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People said.
The Bill has already gone through extensive discussions not only within disability groups, but also within ministries concerned, MPs and different political parties over the last seven years, he said, adding, "All this time and effort just cannot go to waste."
On November 30, the Union Cabinet approved the proposed amendments to the Bill, that seeks to replace the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995.
It proposes imprisonment of at least six months to not more than two years, along with a fine ranging between Rs 10,000 and Rs 5 lakh for discriminating against differently abled persons.
The amended Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2014, proposes to increase reservation for those with benchmark disabilities in government jobs from current three per cent to four per cent, and in higher educational institutes from the existing three per cent to five per cent.
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