Shashi Tharoor responds to filmmaker's ‘betrayal’ charge as Congress-led Rajasthan opposes same-sex unions

Onir, who is openly gay, lashed out at the grand old party for ‘failing to support’ the queer community.

Published on: May 10, 2023, 21:31:16 IST

By HT News Desk, New Delhi

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Responding to filmmaker Onir, who described as ‘betrayal,’ the Congress-led Rajasthan government's position on same-sex marriages, party leader Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday said many individuals do support Onir, but state governments are free to take their own positions.

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor. ((Anshuman Poyrekar/HT File Photo))

Also Read | Rajasthan opposes same-sex marriage, 6 states seek more time to examine: Centre to Supreme Court

“Personally, many of us individuals support you @iamOnir. State governments take their own positions. As far as I am aware an official party stand on the issue has not yet been announced,” tweeted Tharoor.

Tweeting back to the Thiruvananthapuram MP, Onir, who is openly gay, expressed his disappointment that the country's principal opposition party had ‘failed to stand’ by the queer community on the issue of same-sex marriage.

“Does our vote mean nothing since the party does not care about us being treated as equal,” he asked.

The 54-year-old, real name Anirban Dhar, further said some members of the RSS and BJP, too, support rights of the LGBTQI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex) community.

For the record, the Union government, which is led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has submitted in the Supreme Court its opposition to same-sex unions, and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the BJP's ideological mentor, has backed the government's stance.

What is the issue?

On April 18, the Supreme Court began day-to-day hearings on a list of petitions seeking that same-sex marriages be legalised. A day later, the Centre informed the bench it had written to state governments, seeking their comments and views on the issue. Accordingly, on Wednesday, the Centre told the court it had received replies from six states; while Rajasthan opposed the idea, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Maharashtra, Manipur, Sikkim, and Uttar Pradesh each asked for more time.

In September 2018, the apex court had struck down the Indian Penal Code's (IPC) Section 377, thus decriminalising homosexuality.

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HT News Desk
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