This year, 42 Muslim students qualified for the MBBS courses at the Mata Vaishno Devi University out of a total of 50 seats; the BJP seeks L-G’s intervention to reserve all the seats for Hindus
SRINAGAR – Strongly opposing any move to enrol students in educational institutions on the basis of their faith, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has said admissions should be based on merit and not religion.
Referring to the bill in the legislative assembly for establishing the Mata Vaishno Devi University in Jammu’s Katra, Abdullah told reporters, “Show me where it was written that boys and girls of a particular religion will not be given admissions.”
“At that time, it was said that admissions will be given on merit and not on the basis of religion. Now, when admissions are being given on merit, some people don’t like it,” media reports quoted him as saying. “Admissions can’t be given without merit and here, they [the delegation] want to keep merit aside and want admissions to be done on the basis of religion. As far as I know, our Constitution doesn’t allow this,” he said.
His statement came two days after the BJP submitted a memorandum to J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on scrapping this year’s MBBS list of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University (SMVDU), Katra. This year, 42 Muslim students qualified for the MBBS courses at the varsity out of a total of 50 seats. The BJP also sought L-G’s intervention to reserve all the seats for Hindus at the varsity because “it has come up over donations of Hindu devotees”.
However, Abdullah stated that the narrative being floated around admissions at the Mata Vaishno Devi University was an attempt to “move away from constitutional principles”.
“Making admission decisions based on religion could set a precedent affecting other public services,” the chief minister said. He said the law does not restrict admissions to any religious group.
Abdullah said any attempt to bypass merit would require approval from the Supreme Court. “If you want to conduct admissions without merit, then one should approach the Supreme Court. Admission cannot be granted without merit. Introducing religion into admissions would violate constitutional provisions. Once religion becomes a factor in institutional decisions, it could influence other areas of governance,” he said.
“Can similar principles be followed in social welfare schemes or policing. Can duties be based on religion?” he added.
He asked BJP leader and Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma to “study the relevant Act of the Assembly”.
“What is the mistake of the aspirants who gained admission on merit? They should also clearly say that Muslims will not be treated in Shri Mata Vaishno Devi hospital,” Abdullah added.
Kashmir’s Grand Mufti Mufti Nasir-ul-Islam also opposed the move. “Is India a secular country? Have Muslims fought and participated in the freedom struggle or not? The BJP needs to ensure that there was harmony and brotherhood in the country,” said the Grand Mufti.
