A few hours after the Supreme Court legalised homosexuality on Thursday, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) said homosexuality was not a crime, but it still did not support same-sex marriage as it was “not natural”.
A five-judge bench of the apex court, earlier today, unanimously decriminalised part of Section 377, which criminalised consensual unnatural sex, saying it violated the rights to equality.
“Like the Supreme Court’s verdict, we also do not consider this (homosexuality) as a crime,” RSS ‘prachar pramukh’ Arun Kumar said in a statement. ‘Prachar pramukh’ is the designated spokesperson of the Sangh.
Read | What is Section 377? Everything you want to know
However, he maintained the Sangh’s old stand and said gay marriage and such relationships were not “compatible with nature”. “These relationships are not natural, so we do not support this kind of relationship.”
He claimed that Indian society “traditionally does not recognise” such relations. Humans usually learn from experiences, so this topic needs to be discussed and handled the social and psychological level, Kumar added.
Meanwhile, the Congress described the Supreme Court’s decision as “momentous” saying it was an important step towards a liberal and tolerant society.
Read : Section 377 | Top 10 quotes from SC verdict that decriminalises homosexuality
“The Supreme Court’s verdict on Section 377 is momentous. An age-old colonial law that was an anachronism in today’s modern times ends, restoring the fundamental rights and negating discrimination based on sexual orientation.
“It’s an important step forward towards a liberal, tolerant society,” Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala said in a tweet.
Supreme Court verdict on #Section377 is momentous.
An age-old colonial law, that was an anachronism in today’s modern times, ends restoring the fundamental rights & negating discrimination based on sexual orientation. It’s an imp step forward towards a liberal, tolerant society.
— Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) September 6, 2018
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor also welcomed the top court’s decision saying it vindicates his stand on Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on the grounds of privacy, dignity and constitutional freedoms.
So pleased to learn that the SupremeCourt has ruled against criminalising sexual acts in private. This decision vindicates my stand on Section 377& on exactly the same grounds of privacy, dignity &constitutional freedoms. It shames those BJP MPs who vociferously opposed me in LS.
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) September 6, 2018
(With agency inputs)