The party says the ruling party at the Centre is diverting attention from governance lapses and Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board failures
JAMMU — The Jammu and Kashmir chapter of Congress has accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of giving a communal twist to the ongoing row over MBBS admissions in the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence in Jammu and Kashmir. The party said the saffron organisation was attempting to deflect attention from the failures of the Centre and the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board.
The institute located at Kakryal near Katra in Reasi district has been sanctioned 50 MBBS seats this year, and admission of 42 students of Muslims in the maiden batch for the 2025-26 academic year sparked a controversy with right-wing Hindu groups questioning the process and demanding “minority institution” status to the newly established institute, media reports said.
Officials, however, said admissions were made on merit, as the institute has not been granted minority status and, therefore, no reservation criteria based on religion could be applied.
A delegation of BJP MLAs led by Leader of Opposition in J&K Assembly Sunil Sharma met the Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha at the weekend and demanded cancellation of the admission list and ……… reservation of seats to only those students “who have faith in Mata Vaishno Devi.”
Reacting to the controversy, J&K Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) chief spokesperson Ravinder Sharma held BJP-led Centre, especially the Ministry of Health and Family welfare and the management of the Shrine Board and institute, responsible for their failure to take care of the “religious sentiments and rights of Hindus” while granting necessary registration, recognition and permission to the institute as per relevant norms.
“…Why to give communal twist and raise questions on the admissions for the fault of concerned authorities at the helm of affairs, who all belong to BJP and its system but failed to safeguard the rights and religious sentiments of the community by not adopting appropriate course available under law and norms,” Sharma said in a statement issued on Wednesday.
The Congress leader reiterated that the BJP and its allied authorities stand exposed in the matter and said that they should ask their party’s national president, J P Nadda, to take steps to honour the rights and religious sentiments of the Hindu community, as per existing norms.
