New Delhi: There seems to be no political will to amend or even scrap Section 377, which criminalises homosexuality. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor's private member's bill wasn't allowed to be tabled on Friday while many leaders from Tharoor's own party were absent from the House.
This comes weeks after Tharoor was ridiculed and heckled in Parliament over his bill by MPs from almost all parties.
Reacting to this, Tharoor tweeted, "Bitter disappointment as my attempt to introduce my bill to amend Section 377 defeated again. Several MPs who'd promised to vote in favour absent. So bigotry & homophobia on the BJP side met indifference & prejudice on the Opposition's. Will have to leave it to the Supreme Court to resolve."
Meanwhile, Gay rights activist Harish Iyer's mother Padma Iyer has appealed to the Chief Justice of India to scrap Article 377.
In a petition on Change.org, Padma said that she has no faith in Parliament and wants the LGBT community to enjoy the same freedom as a majority of Indians.
"What happened to Dr Tharoor in Parliament stands testimony to what LGBT people face every single day. Section 377 deters the true virtue of equality that is enshrined in our constitution. We want all children to enjoy freedom from prejudice. They are all not the same, but they are equal," Padma said.
Tharoor's previous attempt to introduce a similar bill in the Lok Sabha on December 18 too was voted out. Tharoor had then said he would make another attempt to introduce the bill.
While extending support to the Transgender Bill which was already approved by the Rajya Sabha, Tharoor said Indian culture and tradition has several references to transgenders and there was a pressing need to treat them with dignity.
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