New Delhi/Goa: United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon has accused India of fomenting intolerance with its ban on gay sex amid uproar over a ruling party minister’s plans to make homosexuals “normal”. Speaking on a visit to New Delhi, Ban said he “staunchly opposed the criminalisation of homosexuality” referring to India’s colonial-era law that prohibits gay sex.

“I am proud to stand for the equality of all people — including those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender," the UN secretary general said in a statement late Monday.

“I speak out because laws criminalising consensual, adult same-sex relationships violate basic rights to privacy and to freedom from discrimination. Even if they are not enforced, these laws breed intolerance.” The secretary general’s remarks came close on the heels of Goa minister Ramesh Tawadkar calling for medical treatment to the LGBT community.