Kochi: After the fake document controversy involving two former Students Federation of India (SFI) leaders, the ruling Left Democratic Front Government in Kerala is now left to defend itself against a similar charge against the Chief Minister’s Additional Private Secretary.

The Kerala Students Union, the student’s wing of the Opposition Congress, has alleged that Dr Ratheesh Kaliyadan, who is also the academic adviser of the Chief Minister, obtained his PhD degree in violation of University Grants Commission (UGC) rules and that he plagiarized many parts of his doctoral thesis.

“What Ratheesh claims is that he had obtained a full-time PhD from Assam University during the period 2012-14. However, he was working as a schoolteacher with the Government Girls’ Higher Secondary School, Thalassery, from 2009 to 2017,” KSU President Aloysius Xavier said.

“How can he do the PhD research in Assam while working in Kerala? The rules stipulate that one should have a minimum of 80 percent attendance at the research centre while doing full-time PhD research. How can he obtain 80 percent attendance in Assam while working as a higher secondary teacher in Kerala? While the UGC rules stipulate that at least three years of research is needed for PhD, Ratheesh Kaliyadan says he had completed it in two years. He hadn’t done the coursework prescribed by the UGC,” the KSU leader charged.

“Besides, it’s clear many parts of this thesis were “copied” and an examination with the software ‘turnitin’ reveals over 70 percent of his work was plagiarised. He mainly copied from the internet and various publications, including that of students”, Aloysius Xavier alleged.

The KSU leader said he would file complaints to Assam University demanding the cancellation of Ratheesh’s PhD and also to the UGC, seeking a probe into the episode.

Ratheesh's defence
Meanwhile, Ratheesh Kaliyadan rejected the allegations and said the false charges are meant to deliberately humiliate him.

“The allegations are not corroborating with the facts. I’ve filed a complaint with the Thiruvananthapuram City Police Commissioner in this regard. I’m not saying anything about the ‘merit’ of the allegations since the investigation is on. I hope the probe will reveal the persons who spread the false allegations,” he said.