Yogi Adityanath attacks ‘silence’ on triple talaq

Lucknow: In a significant statement, UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday questioned the “silence” of some people on burning issues, including triple talaq, and said such people were equally guilty.

“I am reminded of everyone staying silent when Draupadi was being disrobed. Those who stayed silent were as guilty and at fault as those who disrobed her. Similarly, the people who are silent on the issue of triple talaq are equally guilty,” he said while speaking at a function to release a book on former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar’s speeches on the latter’s birth anniversary in Lucknow.

“Those in the political class who are keeping mum need to be put in the dock along with the perpetrators of the crime and their accomplices,” he added.

“Former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar had said if all communities are governed by one criminal law, then why not (by one) civil law? He had said if the one nation theory is followed, then there should be a common civil code too”, the chief minister said.

The chief minister recalled his long association with Chandra Shekhar, and added that his speeches were most relevant these days when triple talaq was a major issue. The CM said: “Initially I was opposed to Samajwad that promoted nepotism, but in Parliament, when I heard Chandra Shekhar’s speeches, I realised that true socialism can never die and Samajwad that is being practised today is not real socialism”.

Yogi Adityanath added: “His speeches should be read by all because they offer a solution to problems facing the country — whether it is Punjab or Kashmir or Sri Lanka.

Chandra Shekhar may have been alone in Parliament, but several ideologies prospered with him,” he said.

The chief minister also recalled an incident where former MP Mahant Avaidyanath, his spiritual guru, had given a statement in which he termed Chandra Shekhar an atheist. “Chandra Shekhar invited Guruji (Avaidyanath) to his Bhondsi Ashram, and showed him the temples he built there. He said he was aware of the spiritual character of the people of India”, the chief minister said.

Meanwhile, the All India Shia Personal Law Board (AISPLB) asked the Uttar Pradesh government to draft a strict law against triple talaq, similar to the one that banned the practice of sati, to prevent Muslim women from being victimised. Among Muslims, Shias do not practise triple talaq.

AISPLB spokesman Maulana Yasoob Abbas drew a parallel between pronouncing triple talaq in one go and sati, and said: “The need of the hour is to enact a strict law against triple talaq in one go similar to the anti-sati law to prevent any Muslim woman getting victimised and ensure the culprit is punished,” he said.

But the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) termed Yogi Adityanath’s remarks as “jaahilaanaa” (foolish). AIMPLB general secretary Maulana Wali Rahmani said: “I don’t know how to react to the jaahilaanaa (foolish) statement. He is linking talaq with a greater issue — the disrobing of Draupadi. No sane person will do so. He is looking at things using a different lens (doosraa chashmaa).”

The CM’s remarks came a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a strong pitch against triple talaq, insisting that exploitation of Muslim women should end and justice be done to them. Mr Modi had, however, spoken against any attempt at creating a “conflict” within the Muslim community on the issue and suggested tackling it through social awareness.

Meanwhile, the magnetic pull of power was more than evident in Lucknow on Monday as some Samajwadi leaders chose to invite Yogi Adityanath for the release of a book on speeches in Parliament by former PM Chandra Shekhar, ignoring their own party leaders. The event was organised on Monday to mark the birth anniversary of the former PM by Samajwadi MLC Yeshwant Singh, an acolyte of late Chandra Shekhar.

Former SP minister Raghuraj Pratap Singh, a.k.a. Raja Bhaiyya, was a guest of honour.

The chief minister took a dig at the “change of heart”, and said: “When Yeshwant Singh came to invite me for this function, I reminded him that the government has changed, but he said he still wanted me to release the book.”