Slamming political opponents for not speaking up against triple talaq, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath on Monday used the analogy of the disrobing of Draupadi in the Mahabharata to question their “silence” on the contentious custom.
Mr. Adityanath suggested that those who were maintaining a silence over the “raging issue” of triple talaq were as much at fault as the Muslim men who divorce their wives arbitrarily using triple talaq. He equated the silence on triple talaq to that displayed by the elders present in the court during Draupadi’s humiliation in the epic.
He was speaking here at the launch of a book on Chandra Shekhar on the 91 birth anniversary of the former PM. Mr. Adityanath said he sensed a similar silence in the country over triple talaq. His comments came a day after the All India Muslim Personal Law Board decreed that men using triple talaq without valid reason would face social boycott.
Mr. Adityanath also used the occasion to pitch for a Uniform Civil Code. “Chandra Shekhar ji has asked that when our ways of foreclosure and marriages are the same, then why not have a Uniform Civil code,” he said.
Praising Chandrashekhar as a “true Socialist,” Mr. Adityanath said, he did not all socialism to transform into an “akhara” of “nepotism, goondaism and casteism”. “His ideology was not as important to him as his country. He was above vote bank politics. Politics should be done within the limits of the nation and constitution.” Mr. Adityanath said.
If all organizations and bodies worked in national interest, there will be no scope for conflict, he said.
Amid a raging discussion on the issues, the J.D. (U) also sought to clarify its position on the triple talaq and the UCC. Any change in the law must come through constructive dialogue between all the stakeholders, the party said. “Considering the multi-cultural and multi-religious nature of our country, the issue of Triple Talaq and the UCC shall be put to wide ranging debates in the parliament as well as legislative assemblies of the states and other forums of civil society,” K.C Tyagi, national spokesperson, JD (U) said.
“The party considers that the State must endeavor to bring in the Uniform Civil Code. However, it must be based on broad consensus rather than imposing it in an authoritarian way,” Mr. Tyagi said.
“Any attempt to impose UCC without thorough consultations and consensus, especially with the minorities and various religious groups could lead to social friction and an erosion of faith in the constitutional guarantee of freedom of religion,” Mr. Tyagi said in a statement.
