Disability activists flag Manmohan’s shift to Rajya Sabha last row for wheelchair

While it may be age-related mobility issues in the case of the former Prime Minister, disability rights activists have maintained that accessible and inclusive designs are not for PwDs alone. Anyone can experience temporary disability due to injury or illness, and public spaces should cater to that as well, they said.

Anjlee Agarwal, a disability rights advocate and founder of NGO Samarthyam who was involved in the third-party accessibility audit of the Parliament building in 2011, said it was not enough to designate toilets for PwDs or construct ramps, but to ensure that they are user-friendly.

During the accessibility audit, Agarwal, a wheelchair-user, found that the toilets did not have enough space to turn the wheelchair, the flooring was slippery, and the door latch was at an inaccessible height.

“PwDs are not treated with respect and dignity, and given the back seat. But we don’t have to accept this. The Constitution and the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, guarantee us non-discrimination,” she said.

With the new Parliament building under construction, she said this was the time to “make sure that what happened to Dr Singh does not happen to anyone else”. “It’s not about a VVIP or a VIP. It’s about being treated equally,” she said.

Dr Satendra Singh, a professor at the University College of Medical Sciences, Delhi, and the founder of the Doctors with Disabilities group, said elected representatives had faced accessibility issues in the past, but were yet to raise their voices for PwDs.

“Our politicians with disabilities or those who acquire disability are failing us by not representing our voices. Rather than making Parliament and Assemblies accessible, they are happy to shift us to the last row. We need political representation of PwDs. We have exceptional professionals in medicine, sports, arts and all other fields in this category. Why are they not being nominated to Rajya Sabha,” said Dr Singh.

Nidhi Madan, a landscape architect and proponent of inclusive design, said there were “creative solutions” available – like foldable seats, or leaving a seat vacant to make space for a wheelchair-user. This requires engagement with PwDs and those working on accessibility, she said.

“The demand is for equitable access. If you’re shifting PwDs to the back row, then it’s not equal,” she said, adding that she hoped these issues would be addressed in the new Parliament building.