Who is Senior Advocate Menaka Guruswamy? TMC's Rajya Sabha pick who could become India's first openly LGBTQ MP
The All India Trinamool Congress has fielded Senior Advocate Menaka Guruswamy as one of its candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections from West Bengal. If elected, she would make history as India's first openly queer Member of Parliament.
by Zee Media Bureau · Zee NewsThe All India Trinamool Congress has fielded Senior Advocate Menaka Guruswamy as one of its candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections from West Bengal. If elected, she would make history as India's first openly queer Member of Parliament.
Who is Senior Advocate Menaka Guruswamy?
Guruswamy is a Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court of India, widely recognised as one of the country's finest constitutional lawyers. She is best known for being part of the legal team that argued the landmark case leading to the decriminalisation of homosexuality in India. In 2018, the Supreme Court read down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, a colonial-era law that had criminalised same-sex relationships. That verdict was a watershed moment for LGBTQ rights in India, and Guruswamy played a central role in making it happen.