Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala Women Commission member Shahida Kamal appears to be caught in a bind over her educational qualifications with a division bench of the Lok Ayukta on Thursday asking her to produce her degrees and certificates so that her honesty and integrity could be proved.

 

Kamal ran into trouble after Akhila Khan, who hails from the state capital, approached the ombudsman after her complaint to the state government and the police accusing Kamal of giving false educational qualifications while contesting elections and while applying to be a member of the Commission failed to evoke any response.

Kamal claims to have a PhD, but in a TV channel debate that took place a few months back, the complainant said that her educational qualifications were not correct.

Kamal, then on her Facebook page, mentioned that she took her D.Litt from the International Open University and all those who have received it use the word Dr before their names.

In her reply to the Lok Ayukta, Kamal said that she holds a doctorate in philosophy from the Kazakhstan Open University, while the state Social Justice Department had earlier stated that the doctorate is from the University of Vietnam.

The Lok Ayukta has now posted the case for December 9 and she has been asked to submit her certificates, which she did not produce on Thursday.

Kamal contested the 2009 Lok Sabha poll from Kasargode and also the 2011 Assembly elections on a Congress ticket. But, upset with the Congress for not giving her a safe seat, she quit the party a few years later. She then joined the CPI-M and they rewarded her by making her a member of the KWC, which comes with good perks.