Same-sex marriage: Political reactions pour in; Congress, BJP maintain stoic silence

The Supreme Court verdict on same sex marriage, which denied marital and adoption rights to queer couples, was welcomed by various parties across the political spectrum, barring a few.

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Vishwas Hindu Parishad, and All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen all came out in support of the judgment.

The Congress and BJP, however, largely kept mum on the matter, with Congress’ Jairam Ramesh saying that the party is studying the different judgments and will have a detailed response soon.

The Communist Party of India was one of the few political parties that expressed its disappointment. 

In a post on X, Ramesh, Congress' general secretary in-charge of communications said that the party has always stood with all citizens in protecting “their freedoms, choices, liberties and rights”.

“We, as a party of inclusion, firmly believe in non discriminatory processes — judicial, social, and political,” he said on X.

The RSS welcomed the decision. Sunil Ambekar, who handles publicity for the Sangh, in a post on X said, “Our democratic parliamentary system can seriously discuss all the issues related to this and take appropriate decisions.” 

VHP too welcomed the decision. Alok Kumar, the central working president of the VHP, said that they are satisfied with the Supreme Court decision.

“After listening to all the concerned parties including Hindu, Muslim and Christian followers, (the Supreme Court) has given the decision that the relationship between two homosexuals is in the form of marriage, not eligible for registration. This is not even their fundamental right. Not giving homosexuals the right to adopt a child is also a good step,” Kumar said in a statement.

CPI Parliamentary Group Leader and National Secretary Binoy Vishwam expressed his disappointment at the denial of rights to the LGBTQ+ community in the SC Judgment Tuesday.

“It is unfortunate that the SC has pushed the ball in the government’s court on this crucial issue which is unlikely to take up issues of rights of the marginalised people. There has been a continuous delay in securing similar rights such as reservations for the transgender community. We can no longer be oblivious to the continued struggle of these gendered and sexual minorities,” he said in a statement.