Calling for the end of the Muslim practice of triple talaq, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath today equated it with the disrobing of Draupadi in Hindu epic Mahabharata and slammed the silence of the politicians over it.

"These days there is a new debate in the country. Some people are maintaining a silence on this issue. This reminds me of the scene in the Mahabharata in which Draupadi is being disrobed in an assembly and she asks a question to the gathering as to who is responsible for this?" he said at an event to mark the 91st birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Chandrashekhar in Lucknow.

"No one was able to utter even a single word. At that time Vidur said people who have committed the crime, those who are the accomplices and those who maintained silence on this issue are equally responsible," Adityanath added.

Adityanath slammed those who were against uniform civil code, questioning why should there be two laws "when the entire country was one". He said that politics should be practiced under the constitutional limits and pointed out that the late Chandrashekhar was also a votary of common laws.

YOGI ECHOES MODI

Adityanath's statement marks the continuation of a pro-Muslim women pitch the BJP has been raising, using triple talaq as the cornerstone of that outreach. On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said the BJP would focus on adding new socio-groups into its fold, especially the women and the poor among Muslims.

Dubbing triple talaq a "bad social practice", Modi said such things can be ended by social awakening but stressed that the Bharatiya Janata Party didn't want a conflict on this issue.

"As far as social justice is concerned, our Muslim sisters should also get justice. There should not be injustice to them. No one should be exploited," Union Minister Nitin Gadkari quoted Modi as saying.

Modi added: "We should not allow conflict in the society. We don't want any conflict in Muslim society over the issue. We need to end such bad practices by awakening the society."

Modi's observation came at his concluding remarks of the two-day BJP National Executive meeting in Odisha.

The Narendra Modi government had on October 7 last year opposed in the Supreme Court the triple talaq mode of divorce, 'nikah halala' and the practice of polygamy among Muslims and favoured a relook on grounds like gender equality and secularism.

THE MUSLIM BOARD STAND

Meanwhile, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) asserted that Muslims have the "constitutional" right to follow their personal law and said that those who are using triple talaq recklessly and without justification should be made to face social boycott.

"A code of conduct for talaq is being issued. With its help, the real picture of Sharia directives will be brought out on the talaq issue. If talaq is given without Sharia reasons, those involved will be socially boycotted," AIMPLB General Secretary Maulana Wali Rehmani said on Sunday.

Don't want conflict in Muslim society over triple talaq: PM Modi