India : Goa Minister Slammed Over Plans To ‘Normalise’ Gays
A state minister from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party sparked outrage Tuesday over his plans to make homosexuals “normal”, one day after UN chief Ban Ki-moon accused India of fostering intolerance with its gay sex ban.
Ramesh Tawadkar, from Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), announced plans to open up centres to treat gays and lesbians in the coastal resort state of Goa. “We will make them normal. We will have centres for them, like Alcoholics Anonymous centres,” Tawadkar told reporters Monday, adding that the Goa government would “train them and give them medicines too”.
Tawadkar, Goa’s sports and youth affairs minister, made the comments after releasing the state’s policy on youth issues which listed lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders (LGBT) as a stigmatised group that needed attention. Tawadkar’s comments drew widespread criticism and ridicule from gay rights groups who branded them offensive, while hostile remarks were posted on Twitter and other social media.
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