Kerala: Hadiya's father Ashokan K M joins BJP, vows support to party’s Sabarimala stir

Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 18: Asokan, the father of Hadiya, a 26-year-old Kerala woman who converted to Islam and married a Muslim man against her parents' wishes has joined the Bharatiya Janata Party and pledged his support for the party's ongoing stir against the Supreme Court verdict on Sabarimala temple.

The Bharatiya Janata Party's general secretary B Gopalakrishnan gave KM Ashokan, an ex-serviceman, the membership of the party on Monday.

Ashokan said while speaking to the media that the BJP was the only political outfit which is safeguarding the belief of Hindus. Facing threat from some fundamentalist outfits, he still is under police protection.

Hadiya, earlier Akhila Ashokan, converted to Islam and married Shafin Jahan, a Muslim. Her father had claimed that his daughter was forcibly converted by groups with links to terrorist outfits.

In November 2017, the Supreme Court freed Hadiya of her parent's custody and allowed her to go back to finish her studies. Her marriage, conversion to Islam and the question of her "indoctrination" remained sub judice, with the NIA continuing its investigation into the matter. In March 2018, the Supreme Court finally restored Hadiya's marriage, 10 months after the Kerala High Court annulled it.

Ashokan had opposed his daughter's relationship with Shefin Jahan saying he was an active member of the Popular Front of India, an extremist outfit, and involved in many cases.