BJP plays safe,but some speak up for gay rights

Several BJP leaders on Monday defied the gag order imposed by the party leadership as they came out in the open in support of gay rights....

Several BJP leaders on Monday defied the gag order imposed by the party leadership as they came out in the open in support of gay rights even as the official party line was to skirt the issue as it was not for a political party to be involved in matters like these.

Party secretary from Arunachal Pradesh Kiren Rijiju was among the most vociferous supporters of gay rights. They need to be given their space,and they need to be given their rights, said Rijiju.

Maharashtra BJP spokesperson,Shaina N C,was equally vocal in supporting the legitimate rights of the sexual minority group. Gays are a reality today and you need to move ahead with the changing times… its criminal to treat them like animals, said Shaina.

Story continues below this ad

Partys national executive member from Andhra Pradesh Nirmala Sitharaman said,We must handle this debate with an open mind,expecting an outcome that is favourable to the minority (gay) community. The real challenge is to see if there is a perceptible change in the mindset of the families towards this new emerging social reality. One only hopes that we are always conscious of our culturally tolerant past, said Sitharaman.

While the NDA government had largely viewed the gay rights issue as something that met with the disapproval of much of Indian society and therefore,its criminalisation was justified,the official BJP line on Monday was to skirt the issue,especially when the judiciary was likely to pronounce its verdict on the matter shortly.

A sizable section of the leadership felt that the UPA government need not have shown haste on the issue of repeal of Section 377.

Party spokespersons Rajiv Pratap Rudy and Prakash Javadekar said they had no opinion on the subject and the party had not discussed the issue.

Story continues below this ad

Party vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi was,however,candid. The UPA government should have treaded carefully on this sensitive subject. India is not one of those European countries (that you can decide to scrap Section 377 overnight)… The UPA Government should have involved social activists,political parties and legal experts to deliberate on the issue before taking a final view on the subject. Unfortunately,this government has announced a series of ill-conceived,short-sighted measures for its so-called 100-day agenda, he said.