Panaji: Goa Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Ramesh Tawadkar’s comments declaring his government’s intention to set up special centres to train and offer medicinal treatment in order to bring LGBT youth back to normal has attracted flak on the social media as well in the opposition ranks here.
State’s Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Ramesh Tawadkar had on Monday said, “The government is contemplating to set up centres on the line of Alcoholic Anonymous for LGBT youth, where they will be trained and administered medicine in order to make them normal.”
Tawadkar made this remark while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an event held in Panaji to launch the Goa State Youth Policy 2015 on the occasion of National Youth Day. The policy lists “stigmatised” LGBT youth as one of the many “target groups” which the documents says required “focused attention”.
“We will make them normal. We will have a centre for them. Like Alcoholic Anonymous centres, we will have centres…,” Tawadkar said.
When asked what exactly was the role of the special centres that the government was proposing to set up for Lesbians, Gay, Bi-sexual and Transgender (LGBT) youth, Tawadkar said, “We will train them and (give them) medicines too.”
Like in the case of other “target groups” such as juvenile offenders, drug afflicted youth, marginalised or migrant youth, geographically disadvantaged youth, a detailed survey would be carried out among state LGBT community, so that their problems could be specifically addressed, he said.
Twitter comments by the lesbian, gay bisexual and transgender community with the hashtag ClinicBharo dedicated to Tawadkar’s controversial statement took several digs at the Goa minister for his comments.
Says Manak Matiyani Dafliwala: “So are they allocating land close to the beach for the GoaLGBTClinics? Must take a dip with other patients ClinicBharo with AnonymousLGBT
delhiqueerpride tweeted: “Hope the GoaGovernment clinics have separate gender dorms AdmitLGBTAnonymous #ClinicBharo.”
The Opposition Congress has also criticised Tawadkar for what it calls making an “unscientific, illogical and brainless” statement.
“Everyone has a right to live their life the way they want to. This statement is similar to the statement made by Baba Ramdev in 2013, when he had also offered to ‘cure’ homosexuality. Is the BJP government in Goa towing the Ramdev line?” asked Congress spokesperson Durgadas Kamat.
