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NEW DELHI: The All India Professionals Congress (AIPC) on Wednesday announced the appointment of queer activist and historian Mario da Penha as All India head of its newly created LGBTQIA+ vertical, a move that positions the Congress as the first national party to create a representative vertical specifically for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual (LGBTQIA+) community.a)..
Penha said the creation of the LGBTQIA+ vertical at a national level aligns with the partys ongoing efforts to restructure with a focus on greater social inclusivity..
Penha said while the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) established an LGBT cell in 2020, the Congress was leading the way among national parties with a dedicated framework for LGBTQIA+ inclusion..
The vertical comes against the backdrop of Congress 2024 general election manifesto which promised to bring a law to legalise civil unions between couples belonging to the LGBTQ+ community, a long-standing demand of the community..
I was part of the manifesto consultations for the general election, he said, recalling that he worked with 16 queer organisations to present their suggestions to the manifesto committee, which included prominent party members such as Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh and Congress MP Shashi Tharoor..
