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21 Aug 2014

India’s ruling party chief in Mumbai for decriminalizing same-sex relations

 

An official from the Indian federal government’s ruling party in India’s gay capital city of Mumbai is advocating for a legal decriminalizing of same-sex relations in the country.

“Criminalizing the gay community by misusing Section 377 of the IPC is not acceptable to the BJP,” said Ashish Shelar, Mumbai chief of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP, Indian peoples party) led federal government that came to power May 26.

“Decriminalizing consensual sex between two adults is a pressing need”  he said while speaking at a special Aug 15 Independence Day “Acceptance Meet” organized by the pro-LGBT Humsafar Trust and other organizations for members of the community and their parents in Mumbai, according to dnaindia.com.

This is a radical departure from his BJP’s earlier unsupportive stand for the LGBT community when its minister told parliament recently that his government has no plans to amend Section 377 of IPC (Indian Penal Code) criminalizing same-sex relations.

Section 377 is the British colonial-era law that describes same-sex relations as “unnatural” and punishable with life imprisonment.

The Supreme Court past December upheld the validity of Section 377 reversing the 2009 Delhi’s high court ruling that decriminalized it and gave the gay community broad protections and rights, saying that only Parliament had the right to amend the law.

Shelar promised to raise the issue with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that the law affects at least 40 million people in India. “Parliament cannot ignore something which affects such a large number of people,” he said.

However lawyer activist YP Singh challenged Shelar saying political parties such as the BJP “won’t push for doing something because they’re more worried about their conservative vote bank.”

Addressing the popular notion that the law leaves the LGBT community open to blackmail, harassment and persecution by authorities as well as criminals, Singh suggested that LGBT community members aggressively file follow-up complaints of extortion if the police try to harass them with decoys and trap them.

Ashok Row Kavi of the Humsafar Trust underlined how the re-criminalization of same-sex relation by the Supreme Court had only increased instances of police persecution and extortion using the law to harass gay people and arbitrarily deciding on what constitutes “indecency.”

Mumbai remains the undisputed gay capital of India with its history of gay activism, an increasingly attractive International Film Gay film festival, a hip party scene and the center of gay business from books to merchandise stores, according to pink-pages.co.in.

Reader's Comments

1. 2014-08-23 13:34  
“Parliament cannot ignore something which affects such a large number of people,
- how many people in parliament? said 10%
- How many people which is not in parliament? said 90%

Mean that If 90% of people want 10% parliement to be changed ( to be sent to Heaven immediately) by 90%. It should be allowed.

- what crime is ?
- If Law said that India LGBT is crime then Invasion to India is not crime. It is solely about Power.
If It is about Power, Then any country who has Power may be allowed to do Invasion to India and to recolonization or to attact India, and The world War 3 should be allowed to anybody/ any country has Power.

- Criminalizing gay community is crime.
- If there conservative than no need legislation body anymore
Because legilastion mean making law.
- Gay relation is not same sex, it is different sex : one is top ,other is bottom.
Same sex mostly imposible ( bottom-bottom) although nature teach us that same sex is possible.
But The law maker have no study and learn about nature.
Law study is not Study on Nature .
So, Lawyer have not validity talking about nature.
So, Nature will be Law for extorting people who study unature
This is called everybody the same in front of Law
include the law maker can not be immun from Law
- If something unnatural should get life imprisonment than all law makers with Law education Background should get punishment with life imprisonment
- if you think that Religion offering Love, then Religion should be Law to replace another Law.
-But which Religion? few Religions just offer fake Love or cosmetic Love that used for alibi or just to attract Innocent followers


Comment edited on 2014-08-23 18:22:22

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