The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's Joint General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale on Friday said homosexuality is “socially immoral ” , a day after he appeared to contradict the Sangh's stand on sexual minorities by saying it was not a crime. Hosabale tweeted that while it isn't criminal, homosexuality is a “socially immoral act in our society. No need to punish, but to be treated as a psychological case (sic). ” He also said gay marriage institutionalises homosexuality, and thus should be prohibited.

The leader from the RSS, which is the ideological mentor of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, had on Thursday made a statement that seemed to support LGBT rights. At the India Today Conclave in New Delhi, Hosabale said, “Why should RSS have an opinion on homosexuality? It is not a crime as long as it does not affect the lives of others. Sexual preferences are personal issues,” The Times of India reported.

The statement comes at a time when the BJP and several other political parties have not shown as much empathy for same-sex relationships. In Parliament, BJP MPs have twice voted out Congress leader Shashi Tharoor’s Bill to amend Section 377, which criminalises certain kinds of sexual acts by calling them “unnatural”. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is one of the few from the ruling government to come out with a somewhat accepting take on the issue, saying the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold Section 377 was a “conservative view” that they “may have to reconsider”.