In Facebook video, BJP worker's daughter claims threat to father's life

A shift in political affiliations often begets bitterness toward the party worker who made the switch and at times violence is directed at him.

In Kerala, children from families in the line of political cross-fire seem to be adopting new ways to stay safe.

Ashwini, a Class XI student at a government school in Kasaragod, has posted a video on Facebook claiming that her father C K Sukumaran - a Karinthalam resident who recently switched from CPI-ML (Marxist-Leninist) to the BJP - is facing death threats from local CPM workers.

She said five CPM workers had intercepted Sukumaran as he was dropping her home after school and threatened, as she watched, to kill him.

"They said they would not let my father live as a BJP worker and threatened to kill him in the town itself. They said we could complain to the police and they weren't scared," Ashwini said in the five-minute video which has been widely shared on social media.

Ashwini who also named the CPM workers who reportedly threatened her father said she had to make an appeal for help from the public on Facebook since she felt it was the only option she had.

A police complaint in connection with the issue was filed on Thursday. The CPM leadership in the district has dismissed the allegation.

"This is only part of a political campaign against the CPM," the party's district secretary M V Balakrishnan told DH on Friday.

BJP district president K Sreekanth claimed that threats to Sukumaran started soon after he joined the BJP late last month at Kanhangad, in the presence of party state president Kummanam Rajasekharan.

"His family lives in an area with a strong CPM presence. CPM workers have been threatening him saying that they won't let a Leftist switch to BJP. Sukumaran who was earlier associated with CPI-ML had a break from politics before he joined BJP," Sreekanth told DH.