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.

The Chief Minister was 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 Min-ister 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.”

Meanwhile, the All India Shia Personal Law Board asked the UP 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.