Apsara Reddy has become first transgender woman to be appointed the National General Secretary of All India Mahila Congress (AIMC). Reddy was appointed by Congress president Rahul Gandhi in the presence of Lok Sabha MP and AIMC president Sushmita Dev.
Reddy is one of India's most well-known transgender journalists and activists. She and social activism have gone hand-in-hand since her college times. She has also taken up high-profile cases of child rape and created a media sensation in Tamil Nadu.
Reddy initially joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after meeting party president Amit Shah but her run in the party was short-lived as she quit within a month; she said, "The BJP is regressive and has no place for free-thinking individuals". Reddy was offered national spokesperson's role by Jayalalithaa, former chief minister of Tamil Nadu.
Making a point about the Transgender Bill, Reddy said, "The BJP government has this patronising attitude towards us. We don't need charity, we need assistance to bridge the inequality meted out to us for far too long. They use words like rehabilitation. What the community truly needs is ed