Congress, CPI(M) clash in Kerala over false certificate issue

The fake certificate controversy in the state has sparked a verbal battle between Kerala’s ruling CPI(M) and the opposition Congress, with the latter accusing the Left front on Thursday of shielding individuals engaged in illegal operations.

On the other hand, the CPI(M) denied the accusations made against it about the matter and supported its student wing SFI, whose two former members are being investigated for allegedly using false identification documents.

Former SFI member Vidya K. Maniyodi is accused of providing a fictitious teaching experience certificate in order to obtain a guest faculty position in a government college, while expelled SFI leader Nikhil Thomas is accused of submitting a fake certificate for admission to the M Com course in a college in the Kayamkulam area of the state’s Alappuzha district.

Thomas was kicked out of SFI’s primary membership on Tuesday, and on Wednesday night Vidya—who had supposedly been missing for almost two weeks—was apprehended in a village in the Kozhikode area.

Vidya was brought before a Palakkad court on Thursday and remanded for two days to police custody so she could be interrogated. Her attorney said to reporters outside of court that his client’s detention was a ‘gimmick’ used by the police to ‘satisfy public outrage and the media.’

‘Otherwise what was the tearing hurry to arrest her when her anticipatory bail plea was pending in the Kerala High Court? It is not a very serious offence. The punishment for the offences she is accused of is maximum 7 years,’ he said.

The lawyer further stated that neither Vidya nor her family received a notification under section 41A of the Criminal Procedure Code requesting their personal appearance.

‘Also, she was not hiding. She was staying with a friend awaiting the Kerala HC decision. Even the police have not said she was hiding or that she was given a notice under section 41A CrPC. It is the media which said she was hiding,’ he contended.

While being taken to court, Vidya told reporters, ‘You celebrated it more than needed. I have decided to move forward legally to the extent possible. I know and so do you that the case is fabricated.’