Thiruvananthapuram: KM Ashokan, father of Hadiya alias Akhila Ashokan has joined the BJP. Hadiya’s case had sparked a debate on alleged Love Jihad issue plaguing Kerala.
The Bharathiya Janata Party general secretary B Gopalakrishnan gave the membership to Ashokan on Monday at a meeting of BJP’s Sabarimala Protection committee.
As per reports Ashokan has pledged to support BJP’s legal battle against the entry of young women at Sabarimala’s Lord Ayyappa temple and speaking to Hindustan Times, he said that he had taken this important decision of joining the BJP because he was fed up of the dirty vote bank politics played by the Communist party.
“ I was a Communist Party follower since childhood. But the party is playing dirty vote-bank politics with an eye on minority votes… Like many Hindus of Kerala, I am also torn between my belief and law. I personally believe customs and traditions should not come under the purview of courts. Let religious scholars and others decide on such issues,” Ashokan is quoted in HT.
Earlier this year, Hadiya alias Akhila Ashokan, the 26-year-old daughter of Ashokan married Shafin Jahan and got converted to Islam against her father’s wishes. Ashokan had alleged that his daughter Akhila was forced into marrying a Muslim and was a victim of ‘love jihad’. The Supreme Court had restored the marriage later.
Hadiya in her affidavit to the Supreme Court said that her father was an atheist and ‘certain sections’ were using him for their own motives.
