BJP MP Sushil Kumar Modi said the Hindu religion considered marriage of divine origin, adding that same-sex marriages were neither recognised nor accepted in any uncodified personal laws.
| Photo Credit: PTI
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s Sushil Kumar Modi said in the Rajya Sabha on Monday that same-sex marriages should not be legalised and the issue cannot be decided by courts alone.
“Two judges cannot sit and take a decision on such social issues. There should rather be a debate in Parliament and society,” Mr. Modi said, adding that attempts were being made by “left-liberal democratic people and activists” to legalise same-sex marriages by following the West.
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Making a Zero Hour submission in the Rajya Sabha, Mr. Modi said that same-sex marriages were “against our culture and ethos”, and asked the Union government to strongly present its case in court. On November 25, following Public Interest Litigations (PIL) seeking recognition of same-sex marriages under the Special Marriage Act, a Bench headed by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud issued notices to the Attorney General R. Venkataramani and the Union government.
“Same-sex marriages will cause complete havoc with the delicate balance of personal laws in the country,” Mr. Modi said. He also said that issues such as family, and children and their upbringing were related to the institution of marriage, as were those of adoption, domestic violence, divorce, and a wife’s right to stay in the marital home. “Some left-liberal, democratic people and activists want India to follow the West,” the former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar said.
He said marriage was considered sacred in India and was only meant as a “relationship between a biological man and woman”. The BJP leader went on to say that the Hindu religion considered marriage of divine origin, adding that same-sex marriages were neither recognised nor accepted in any uncodified personal laws like the Muslim personal law or in any codified statutory law. He also asked the judiciary to “not take any decision which is against the culture, ethos, and beliefs of the country”.
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