The Students Federation of India (SFI) in Kerala seems to be running into some controversy or the other, , with the latest episode involving the Left leaning outfit’s state secretary, PM Arsho. A student of MA Archeology in Kochi’s Maharaja’s college, Arsho, who is also an accused in a murder case, was found to have cleared his third semester examinations. However, his mark list shows that he has not scored any marks since he has not given the examinations. This has sparked protests from opposing student groups, who have accused the SFI, which is the students body associated with the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist), of having used their influence to help Arsho clear the examinations.
However, according to a report by Manorama News, Arsho has come forward to clarify that he did not attempt a single paper during the third-semester examinations. “I wasn’t in Ernakulam when the exams were conducted. I did not have permission to enter the district because of the case against me,” he told Manorama News.
Meanwhile, the Kerala Students Union (KSU), the students outfit of the Congress party, held a protest outside the college principal’s office demanding a clarification on the issue. VS Joy, the principal reportedly said that it was a technical glitch and that the college will rectify it. The college also withdrew the third semester examination results from their website.
Arsho is one of the accused in the murder of advocate Nizam Nassar at his house in Erattupetta in November, 2018. He is also accused in several other criminal cases, including assaulting a student and making casteist remarks on an AISF woman leader.
This row comes less than a month after an SFI leader was suspended from the student’s outfit after reports emerged that his name was fraudulently recommended to the post of University Union Chancellor (UUC), replacing the originally elected candidate of the Kattakada Christian College in Thiruvananthapuram.
Meanwhile SFI Kerala state committee has put out a statement hitting out at the news channels, accusing them of spreading false news with regard to the issue. “Everybody here knows that a person who has scored 0 in exams will not be able to pass the examinations. Also, the exam results in Maharaja’s college are published by the National Information Centre (NIC) of the Union government. Despite the fact that the college principal clarified that it was a technical glitch from the NIC’s side, the media has not made any effort to report the matter correctly,” said the SFI statement.