The ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI(M) in Kerala is facing criticism and allegations of a mark list controversy involving its student wing leader. The controversy arose when the mark list of PM Arsho, State Secretary of the Students' Federation of India (SFI), showed that he had passed exams despite not attending them. Additionally, a former SFI activist named K Vidhya was found to have forged a fake experience certificate from Maharaja's College to secure a teaching job at another college.
In response to the allegations, the CPI(M) in Kerala claimed that there was a conspiracy behind the controversy and called for a comprehensive investigation to find out the "force" behind such "fake" charges, reports PTI.
According to the report, it was also made clear that if anyone had done anything illegal, he or she should have to face legal proceedings and there was no need for the party to protect anyone.
CPI(M) State Secretary MV Govindan alleged that a conspiracy is being hatched against the Left outfit.
The party's stand
"We understand that a huge conspiracy is going on against the SFI in this regard. A comprehensive probe should be conducted to find out the force behind the news that puts the SFI in a bad light," he said to PTI. He criticised the media for taking a biased stance based on allegations and questioned how someone could pass an examination without appearing for it.
Senior CPI(M) leader A Vijayaraghavan dismissed the mark list issue as a technical error.
Those with common sense could understand that it was just a technical issue, but the matter was deliberately being used for anti-CPI (M) propaganda, he said, as per the report.
Asked about the experience certificate forgery case against the former SFI leader, he said if anyone had indulged in malpractice, he or she shall have to face the legal proceedings.
Opposition's stand
Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala criticised the SFI leadership, accusing Govindan of defending the accused individuals.
"These incidents and the justification of MV Govindan are showing the degradation of the CPI(M). The Marxist party state secretary has stooped to the level of justifying any wrongdoing," he told reporters.
The Congress-affiliated Kerala Students Union (KSU) alleged that Arsho's mark list indicated he had passed an examination he did not take.
The opposition further claimed that Vidhya received assistance from SFI leaders in forging the fake experience certificate.
The forged experience certificate came to light when Vidhya presented it during an interview for a guest lecturer position at a government college in Attappady in Palakkad.
Suspicion was raised by a few panellists who contacted Maharaja's College authorities. The college confirmed that Vidhya had never worked as a guest lecturer during the mentioned period.
The college management filed a police complaint against Vidhya, who was also a former student of the Malayalam department of the same college. A case was registered against Vidhya under non-bailable charges based on the complaint.
