0 months ago
Shashi Tharoor questions delay in LGBTQIA+ rights panel's work
Long ago, India's top judges decided that people who love someone of the same gender deserve fair treatment.
The judges asked the government to create a special group, called a committee, to look into the problems these couples face.
The committee was set up more than two years ago.
But since then, it has only had two meetings and has not shared a single idea or report.
A leader in India's Parliament named Shashi Tharoor asked the government to explain what the committee has been doing.
The government's answer showed that the committee had almost stopped working.
Tharoor said this means the government is not really trying to help same-sex couples.
He explained that simple papers and advisories do not give people real rights, like fair housing, jobs, healthcare, or family benefits.
He wants the committee to finish its work so that everyone is treated with fairness.
The Centre's High-Powered Committee on issues concerning same-sex couples has met only twice since its formation more than two years ago.
The committee has yet to submit any recommendation or report, according to the government's written reply to an unstarred question raised by Congress MP Dr. Shashi Tharoor in the Lok Sabha.
The committee was constituted pursuant to the Supreme Court's judgment in the Supriyo case, and its last meeting was held more than two years ago.
Tharoor said the reply lays bare the 'utter failure' of the committee and the government's 'complete lack of political will' to secure meaningful rights for the LGBTQIA+ community.
Tharoor argued that interim measures such as advisories do not create rights and cannot substitute for meaningful legal reform on housing, employment, healthcare, inheritance and other protections.
- Who
- Congress MP Dr. Shashi Tharoor, who raised the question; the Centre's High-Powered Committee on issues concerning same-sex couples; the Government of India.
- What
- The High-Powered Committee constituted to examine issues concerning same-sex couples has met only twice in more than two years and produced no recommendations; Tharoor called this a failure of political will.
- Where
- Lok Sabha, the lower house of India's Parliament in New Delhi.
- When
- The committee was formed more than two years ago; the government's written reply was received on Tuesday and Tharoor responded publicly on Wednesday.
- Why
- The committee was formed pursuant to the Supreme Court's Supriyo judgment to address the concerns of same-sex couples, but it has remained virtually inactive.
Opposition / LGBTQIA+ advocates
Government / Centre
Committee's inactivity
Opposition / LGBTQIA+ advocates
The committee's near-total inactivity proves the government's utter failure and complete lack of political will to secure meaningful rights for same-sex couples; Tharoor also asked whether the committee was constituted merely to satisfy the Court.
Government / Centre
The government's written reply cited interim measures it says address the concerns of same-sex couples, indicating it regards the committee's work as an ongoing process.
Advisories vs. legal reform
Opposition / LGBTQIA+ advocates
Tharoor argues advisories do not create rights and cannot guarantee equal access to housing, employment, healthcare, inheritance, next-of-kin recognition or public services.
Government / Centre
The government pointed to interim measures as steps taken to respond to the concerns of same-sex couples while the committee's formal recommendations remain pending.
Key facts
- Committee
- High-Powered Committee on issues concerning same-sex couples
- Meetings held
- 2
- Last meeting
- More than two years ago
- Recommendations/reports submitted
- None
- Formed pursuant to
- Supreme Court's judgment in the Supriyo case
- Question raised by
- Congress MP Dr. Shashi Tharoor
- Parliamentary mechanism
- Unstarred question in the Lok Sabha
Quotes
Dr. Shashi Tharoor
Senior member of the Lok Sabha and Congress MP
“The Government's reply to my question lays bare the utter failure of the High-Powered Committee constituted pursuant to the Supreme Court's Supriyo judgment and more importantly, the Government's complete lack of political will to address the concerns of same-sex couples and secure meaningful rights for our fellow citizens in the LGBTQIA+ community.”
thehansindia.com
“The interim measures cited by the Government cannot substitute for meaningful legal reform. Advisories do not create rights. They do not guarantee equal access to housing, employment, healthcare, inheritance, joint financial benefits, next-of‑kin recognition, medical decision-making or public services.”
thehansindia.com









