ALAPPUZHA: The ruling CPM and its student wing, the Students Federation of India (SFI), have been embroiled in a slew of controversies of late, especially over a string of fake certificate cases. The latest is from Alappuzha, where a complaint had been registered against SFI leader Nikhil Thomas.
According to the complaint filed by a student of MSM College here, Nikhil had submitted a fake certificate to the college to join its MCom postgraduate course in 2022. After the issue became a hot topic, the CPM district leadership intervened and sacked Nikhil from the SFI. According to sources, the fraction meeting of the CPM, held at Kayamkulam on Friday, removed Nikhil from the SFI leadership position after it was found that his certificate had some legal issues.
“According to the complaint, he joined the college for a degree in 2018 and studied up to 2020. However, he did not complete the course. In 2021, he submitted the degree certificate from Kalinga University for joining MCom. How can he study the same course in a different university in the same period? So the petitioner raised suspicion of the fake degree certificate, and the party removed him from the post of SFI,” the source said.
He was also the University Union Councilor of the College Union in 2019 and the joint secretary of the Kerala University Union. The petitioner said Nikhil did not complete the degree course at MSM but produced a degree certificate from another university in the same period, thereby raising suspicion.
The petitioner is also an SFI member and Nikhil’s junior.