A spectre is haunting the Kerala CPI(M) – a spectre of frauds committed by the leaders of its student organization, Students' Federation of India. K. Vidya, a former SFI leader and member of the student union at both Maharaja's College and Kalady Sanskrit College, is currently absconding after allegedly submitting fake certificates during an interview for a guest lecturer position in Malayalam at Government College, Attapady, on June 2.
Adding to the controversy, a fresh allegation has emerged, accusing Nikhil Thomas, a former SFI Alappuzha district committee member, of securing admission to the M.Com programme by submitting counterfeit certificates.
Thomas was a B.Com student at Milad-E-Sherif Memorial (MSM) College in Kayamkulam—under Kerala University— between 2018 and 2020, but the student leader failed to clear the exams. However, in 2021, Thomas managed to get enrolment for M.Com in the same college using the degree certificate issued by Kalinga University in Raipur. According to the certificate, Thomas completed the degree in Kalinga between 2019 and 2021.
There is suspicion whether this M.Com admission itself happened because of political intervention. The admission process to post-graduation courses was supposed to end by the third week of January 2022, however, the university syndicate gave instructions to all colleges on January 30 that admission is allowed till January 31. Interestingly, Thomas took admission on January 31, 2022, and MSM College did not raise any questions about the degree certificate from Kalinga during the admission process.
SFI suspended Thomas from the Alappuzha district committee after complaints of forgery came up. However, today morning, SFI state president Arsho P.M, gave a clean chit to Thomas saying that SFI had checked his certificates and found that they are original. “There is no irregularity in his M.Com admission. He wrote the exam and qualified.”
Arsho also justified how Nikhil was attending degree courses at two universities simultaneously. “In 2013, the UGC made it clear that a student may enrol in two degree courses simultaneously. However, one degree should be cancelled after completion. Thomas cancelled his registration at Kerala University,” he said.
CPI(M) in Kerala is currently in an open confrontation with media houses criticising them, and in the expected line, Arsho alleged the hypocrisy of the Kerala media behind the controversy. The social media timelines quickly became inundated with snippets of Arsho's statements and posts filled with verbal attacks against the media, courtesy of CPI(M)'s cyber warriors.
However, things took a major turn in the afternoon when the Kalinga University registrar and Kerala University vice chancellor raised serious doubts about the authenticity of the certificate submitted by the student leader. Kalinga registrar Sandeep Gandhi told the Manorama News that no student named Nikhil Thomas was enrolled in the university during 2019-2021.
And, this forced the SFI state secretary to backtrack on his position that the certificates are original. “We will re-examine the degree certificate of Thomas,” said Arsho. “It was based on the eligibility certificate issued by the Kerala University that we said Thomas’s certificate is genuine. But a more detailed investigation will be done based on the information that has come out now. There are institutes outside Kerala that take money and issue certificates and provide attendance. Many mafias act as admission agents. Will investigate whether Thomas took the help of such mafias. Thomas was removed from organizational duties when the matter came up.” Arsho also added that the organisation did not give a clean chit to Thomas.
Thomas has been suspended by MSM College now. College Principal Mohammad Thaha announced that legal action will be taken against him. A six-member committee also has been appointed now to investigate the matter. Meanwhile, Kalinga University also has started an investigation. Though the SFI has taken some quick actions against the accused, this incident will reinforce allegations that the CPI(M) and its affiliates are exploiting their positions to promote favouritism and corruption across various levels in the southern state.