From opposing the legalisation of same-sex marriage in the Supreme Court of India initially to maintaining a diplomatic silence after the Court handed down its eventually disappointing judgment in 2023 (in Supriyo @ Supriya Chakraborty & Anr. vs Union of India), the Congress party has released its Nyay Patra, its election manifesto for 2024, which has a dedicated section on the rights of senior citizens, persons with disabilities, and LGBTQIA+ people. The party promises that, if elected to power, they would fulfil the Court’s mandate of ensuring a high-powered committee at the Union government level is set up to hold widespread consultations with relevant stakeholders to pass a law legalising civil unions for LGBTQ+ couples.
A few things must be noted here. First, during the marriage equality hearings, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Bharatiya Janata Party government, opposed marriage equality and sought the views of all States and Union territories. At that time, there was a studied silence by the Congress. However, the Rajasthan Congress, led by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, weighed in, stating in his submissions that legalising same-sex relationships would create “imbalance” in the social fabric of the country, and would lead to “widespread consequences for the social and family systems”. What these consequences were and how legalising such marriages could lead to “imbalance” and not “inclusion” remains a mystery.
