Stop the hypocrisy and bring it up in Parliament; Laxmi Narayan Tripathi on Jaitley's Sec 377 comment

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has ignited the debate on Section 377 with his comments at the Time of India LitFest. He said that the Supreme Court's decision to criminalise consensual same-sex relations and uphold the constitutionality of Section 377 was out of sync with the prevalent jurisprudence across the world.

What's also interesting is that Jaitley's comments and the ignited debate around gay rights coincide with the Delhi Pride Parade, started by the Delhi Queer Pride community.

Hum leke rahenge azaadi, the crowd chants at the #DelhiQueerPride. #LGBT pic.twitter.com/ZISZFcgADx

- Catch News (@CatchNews) November 29, 2015

While many would consider it a bold statement given that the BJP's stand on homosexuality is not clear, on papers others would see in it an attempt by the government to shirk its responsibility. This sentiment was curtly expressed by transgender rights activist Laxmi Narayan Tripathi when our reporter asked her for a reaction on Jaitley's comments.

Her response was:

"They should stop the hypocrisy and bring up 377 in Parliament and strike it off the statute books."

LIVE on #Periscope: At the #DelhiQueerPride with Lakshmi Narayan Tripathi https://t.co/FotajRItRH

- Catch News (@CatchNews) November 29, 2015

You can watch Tripathi's entire address to a cheering crowd, here.

LIVE on #Periscope: At the #DelhiQueerPride stage https://t.co/W5EjPNYj2F

- Catch News (@CatchNews) November 29, 2015

The BJP government has remained evasive on answering questions on whether they would start a legislative process to strike off Section 377. The government says it is waiting for the Supreme Court's ruling on the curative petition on the issue that's pending before it.

You can watch our coverage live on Periscope. Follow us on Twitter @CatchNews.