It is govt’s job to protect LGBT rights: Harsh Vardhan

Union health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on Thursday claimed he was all for human rights of the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) community.

During the release of Central Bureau of Health Intelligence, the government of India’s national health profile 2013, Dr Vardhan said it was the government’s job to protect the rights of the LGBT population.

“Everybody, including gays, has human rights. It is the job of the government to protect their rights,” he said.

Dr Vardhan, however, declined to make any more comments on the issue, especially when asked to explain his stance.

His party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, had supported the Supreme Court judgment last year wherein it had upheld the validity of Section 377 of IPC that criminalizes sex among homosexuals.

In 2009, the Delhi High Court had overturned the law of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) that described homosexuality as against the order of nature, calling it a violation of an individual’s rights to freedom under Articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution in cases dealing with gay sex, provided it is by consent of both individuals.

The SC is at present hearing a curative petition on the matter.