Youth LGBT wing joins Swachh Bharat drive, appeals to PM Narendra Modi to remove Section 377

The Supreme Court had nullified the Delhi High Court's verdict on decriminalising homosexuality last December 11. To mourn the day and send a message to the prime minister, Yaariyan, the youth LGBT wing of Humsafar trust that works for the cause, participated in the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan at Juhu beach. With a logo of a broom cancelling out section 377 on their backs, more than 30 people took up the task of cleaning the beach.

Founder member of Yaariyan Shruta Neytra said the verdict called them a so-called LGBT group and a miniscule minority. "We're honest citizens of the country. Just by being attracted to the same sex, we become criminals... It is a non-bailable and cognisable offence. We only want the government to recognise equal rights," she added.

The founder of Humsafar trust, Vivek Anand, had recently received Rs50 Lakh through a Satyamev Jayate initiative and he too was present at the clean-up drive with his father. "If my child is LGBT, I too am LGBT. If my heart is clean, then my country is also clean. These laws have existed in the 19th century. This generation needs modern laws instead of archaic ones," said 86-year-old Rajkumar Anand.

"I nominate PM Narendra Modi to clean up our constitution of the unjust and un-Indian laws and remove the dirt in our legal system. By calling the LGBTIQ community miniscule, you are denying the rights of the lowest common denominator, which is recognised by the Constitution of this democratic country. We joined his Abhiyaan and he too should make a Swachh constitution, sans section 377. Only then will India truly be clean," said activist Harrish Iyer.