New Delhi: Union Minister for Urban Development Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday said homosexuality was a "humane issue" and the government had not formulated any view on the matter so far.
Reacting to the apex court referring the issue to a five-judge constitution bench, the minister said, "It is a humane issue, we have to study various aspects and take a final view. The debate is on. The government has, to my knowledge, not formulated any final view, but it is now before the court, let us await what is going to happen..."
Asked about his personal view, he said, "I have no personal view, because as a minister people should not talk about personal views."
Expressing happiness over the positive approach by the apex court, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said, "The Supreme Court has actually breathed some hope into the cause of redressing the denial of rights of so many."
Former Union Home Minister P Chidambaram welcomed the Supreme Court decision to refer to a five-judge constitution bench the re-examination of the verdict on same sex relationships and hoped that the Delhi High Court judgement on it will be upheld. "I am happy that an error is being corrected. This is only the first step. I look forward to the day when the SC will uphold the judgement of the Delhi High Court."
If SC doesn't repeal the discriminatory, draconian & archaic #Section377, government & MPs must intervene in the interest of social justice
— Milind Deora (@milinddeora) February 1, 2016
Meanwhile, equal rights activist Anjali Gopalan of the Naz Foundation expressed relief, saying, "They have accepted the petition that means they see some merit in it."
Amnesty India tweeted: "The Supreme Court has another chance to correct a grave error, which continues to put LGBTI people under physical, mental and legal threat."
