The core of BJP’s vote bank is conservative, Hindutva, and many do not agree on same-sex marriage. Assembly elections in major states are near, in such a situation BJP does not want to flutter its wings. (Representational image/Reuters)
With the government conveniently leaving it to the courts to decide on same-sex marriage, the Center has taken a confused stand as it suits their narrative and does not want to antagonize the traditional vote bank.
“Marriage between a biological man and a biological woman is legally, religiously and socially accepted. Any recognized deviation of this human relationship can only be before a competent legislature,” the Center had recently said .
With this, it is clear that the government has deviated from the controversial issue of same-sex marriage. But in court, where the case was heard recently, the government was restrained and reticent and not very enthusiastic about supporting same-sex marriage.
The reason is not far to seek. Politics It is not played in a vacuum. Certainly not in India, where decisions that seek to disturb or change the social fabric have electoral ramifications.
The core of BJP’s vote bank is conservative, Hindutva, and many do not agree on same-sex marriage. And when assembly elections in major states are round the corner, the BJP does not want to ruffle its feathers.
But history is witness to the fact that politicians and governments have been stalling the making of laws affecting their vote banks. One that comes to mind is former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, who ushered in an era of liberalization in the country, and was projected as a progressive, youthful leader. Unfortunately, he could not muster the courage in the Shah Bano case, when an elderly divorced Muslim woman wanted her ex-husband to pay her maintenance.
The clerics had taken up arms and Rajiv Gandhi refused to support them, not wishing to lose the core Muslim vote bank for real politics. He lost the progressive tag, and one of his closest allies, Arif Mohammed Khan, the current Governor of Kerala.
Even the UPA, which came on the pitch of a young and different India, especially with Rahul Gandhi Being the main face, could not stop him from dragging his feet on the controversial issue of decriminalization of homosexuality. Several people in the Congress’ core group, including Ghulam Nabi Azad and P Chidambaram, have expressed their objection to going ahead with the same-sex marriage law in their Friday meetings.
It was conveniently left to the courts, as the Center took a confused stand as it suited their narrative and did not want to antagonize the traditional vote bank. As a senior minister previously said, “The gay community is a small community and it doesn’t matter if they don’t vote for us because it won’t hurt us.”
It is this thinking that has guided many other laws like triple talaq and marital rape. The BJP was accused of pushing the triple talaq law because it didn’t matter to them that Muslims would not vote for them. but PM Narendra Modi For the empowerment of women, and as a result, it was observed that many Muslim women voted for the party during the 2022 Uttar Pradesh elections.
As they say, ‘Yeh Janta Hai Yeh Sab Janati Hai’. And the example of Uttar Pradesh is, perhaps, the best proof of this, and why politicians should bite the bullet and why.
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