Shashi Tharoor
Congress Lok Sabha member Shashi Tharoor on Thursday described the Supreme Court decision decriminalising homosexuality as a "dawn of freedom" as the "government has no space in bedrooms".
Reacting to the apex court ruling in favour of the LGBTIQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/transsexual, intersex and queer/questioning) community in India, Tharoor said he was very pleased with the historic judgement.
"We allowed the government to interfere in our private lives but the apex court has stood up to uphold dignity of the people. This is not sex, this is freedom as government has no space in bedrooms as this is a private act between consenting adults. This is a dawn of freedom," said Tharoor.
He went on to add that when he tried to move a private members bill in the Lok Sabha on two occasions, he was shouted down by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members.
"I then said it's only the judiciary that can do anything and through this judgement, it shames those BJP members who opposed this," said Tharoor.
R. Renju, an LGBTIQ activist, expressed happiness and applauded the apex court for this huge game-changing verdict.
"I always felt proud to be an Indian, and now as we become the 27th country which legalises homosexuality I feel even more proud to be an Indian.
"If anyone who has followed the LGBTIQ community, this judgement has been made after studying the community's needs in detail. If I love or like someone, it comes from the heart.
"Now I am extremely proud to be an LGBTIQ activist. It's at this time that I remember how much my predecessors have suffered, especially at the hands of the police," said Renju.
Former Communist Party of India-Marxist backed legislator and Lok Sabha member Sebastian Paul said with the country progressing so much in 157 years, a lot had changed between now and then when this law was framed. So this new directive was welcome.
