New Delhi, March 18: A senior Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leader yesterday appeared to support the decriminalisation of homosexuality while opposing same-sex marriages, but later nuanced his statement by tweeting gay sex was "immoral".

Sangh joint general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale's comments did not entirely clear up the longstanding ambivalence the Sangh has maintained on homosexuality while its political offspring, the BJP, has stoutly opposed gay sex.

Hosabale's remarks came at the India Today Conclave when, at the Q&A session that followed his speech, he was asked about homosexuality.

"Why should the 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," he replied.

This morning, Sangh sources hinted the statement had not been "entirely agreeable" and added that his latest tweets should be checked for a "clearer perspective".

"Homosexuality is not a crime but a socially immoral act in our society," one of Hosabale's tweets read. "No need to punish but should be treated as a psychological case."

On gay marriages, Hosabale's take was: "Gay marriage is institutionalisation of homosexuality. It should be prohibited."#Earlier, in May 2014, then Sangh spokesperson Ram Madhav had given a surprise answer to an interviewer's query on homosexuality.

"While glorification of certain forms of social behaviour is not something we endorse, the penalising and criminalisation aspects need to be looked into," he had said.

"Whether to call homosexuality a crime and treat it as one in this day and age is questionable."

The Sangh had distanced itself from the statement.

Hosabale's comments have come days after the BJP used its Lok Sabha majority to defeat a private member's bill moved by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor seeking de-criminalisation of gay sex#

Section 377 of the penal code prescribes jail for sex "against the order of nature". In 2009, Delhi High Court had quashed the law saying gay and lesbian sex in private between consenting adults was not a crime.

In 2013, then BJP chief Rajnath Singh had called homosexuality an "unnatural act" while supporting an apex court judgment that had overturned a Delhi High Court ruling quashing the law criminalising gay sex.

A BJP lobby that favours a more liberal opinion believes that Rajnath had "second-guessed" the Sangh.

Morph arrests

Two young men who had shared a morphed image of Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat on Facebook and WhatsApp were today remanded in judicial custody till March 30.

Shakir Yunus Banthia and Waseem Sheikh had been arrested on charges of obscenity and promoting enmity between classes.