“I have not formed any view on this matter. The government of the day will take a decision. Elders in the party are well aware and the matter should be left to them to decide,” Sayeed told The Indian Express.

Said Congress spokesperson Manish Tiwari: “After the High Court judgement, the issue has become a legal question. The government should factor in this legal question into its consultation for further movement on the issue. The party has no view on it.”

Said Deputy Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj: “The party has not made up its mind on the issue as is yet to discuss it”.

M Venkaiah Naidu said he had not read the court verdict. BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad refused to comment while Rajiv Pratap Rudy said he would comment only after the government formulated its response to the court order. Maharashtra BJP spokesperson Shaina N C and party national executive member Nirmala Sitharaman were the only two BJP leaders to support gay rights last week. VHP leader Giriraj Kishore said the court judgement would “destroy society”.

SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav opposed the court ruling saying, “It is against our Indian tradition and values. I demand that the government appeal against the order in Supreme Court.”

His general secretary may have effectively endorsed the ruling but CPM MP P K Biju, national president of the party’s students’ wing SFI, said, “We have not discussed the issue in the organization. So I would not be able to make any comment.”

... contd.