Azam Khan spews controversy over triple talaq, calls for reinstatement of 'sati pratha'

Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan has stoked another controversy by asking Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to reinstate 'sati pratha', an obsolete Hindu tradition where a widow immolated herself on her husband's pyre, before banning triple talaq in the state.

"Who is stopping him to legislate laws on triple talaq? But first tell me which Muslim opposed 'sati pratha'? 'Sati pratha' is a part of the Hindu culture. Make it applicable, first," Khan told ANI.

His remark came after Adityanath said that those silent on the triple talaq issue were equally 'guilty' as the ones practising it.

"People maintaining silence are equally guilty," Adityanath said while addressing a launch of book on former prime minister Chandra Shekhar Singh.

The Chief Minister further said, "If our criminal suits and marriages are similar, then what is harm to implement Uniform Civil Code in the country."

Citing the example of Mahabharata's Draupadi's 'Cheer-haran', he said that the society would also be equally guilty if it does not utter a single word on the issue.

The fresh impetus to impose a ban on triple talaq came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly spoke against the issue.

"Our Muslim sisters deserve justice. We should try to solve this issue at the district level. We should also proceed on the formula of a new India. We can't simply move forward on a slow pace, but charge ahead with full speed," he said during the BJP National Executive Meeting in Bhubaneswar.