 In August 2015, during the monsoon session of the Parliament, he proposed the decriminalisation of cannabis.In December 2015, he repeated his proposal during the winter session, saying that banning cannabis has forced villagers to turn to alcohol.Tathagata Satpathy has condemned the Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which criminalises homosexuality in India, calling it "archaic" and called for its repeal.