Kochi: Tension between Twenty20 and CPM worsened with the death of Twenty20 leader Deepu, 38, in a hospital in Ernakulam on Friday.
Twenty20 leaders and supporters said CPM was responsible for the death of Deepu who they alleged was attacked by CPM activists at Kizhakkambalam near here.
A panchayat member told the media that she was a witness to CPM workers assaulting Deepu as he was fighting against CPM’s attempts to derail Twenty20’s ‘Street Light Challenge’ to improve street lighting in the panchayats ruled by it.
The member accused them of abusing her when she tried to save Deepu from them. The member said that the local MLA P V Sreenijan of CPM reached the spot which showed that he was also party to it.
Four CPM activists were arrested by the police in connection with the case. Sreenijan condoled the death of Deepu and claimed he was being dragged into case by some groups.
CPM was losing its popularity in the region as Twenty20 had captured power in more panchayats in the recently held elections through its efficient and corruption-free governance.
The ‘Street Light Challenge’ programme was one such campaign making Twenty20 popular among people, media reports said.
Twenty20 is a value based political movement started by entrepreneur Sabu Jacob in a bid to fight corruption and misrule in
Kizhakkambalam panchayat where Jacob’s export oriented garment factory Kitex is functioning.
Other political parties were losing their relevance in the region due to outstanding performance by the twenty20 governance. This had prompted all the political parties to join hands against Twenty20.
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