Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has defended the admission of Muslim students to Mata Vaishno Devi Medical College and said merit, not religion, must be followed by the college. The BJP has issued strong objections to the move.
Abdullah said the university has been established by an act of the J&K Assembly and doesn't restrict admission on basis of religion. "When the Assembly passed the bill to establish Mata Vaishno Devi University, where was it written that boys and girls of one religion would be excluded?" Abdullah said.
There is a raging controversy over the admission of Muslim students in the Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence. Following protests by right-wing groups in Jammu, the BJP has strongly opposed the admission of Muslim students and submitted a memorandum to Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, urging him to roll back their admissions.
The BJP and several right-wing groups have argued that since the college has been established by the Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board and built through donations made by Hindus, seats should be exclusively reserved for Hindus who have faith in Vaishno Devi.
"It is not acceptable to the people of the country that students from a particular community get admission in the college," said Sunil Sharma, Leader of the Opposition in the J&K Assembly.
"We have conveyed the sentiments and anguish of the people to the Lt Governor. Only those students should be given admission in the medical college who have faith in Mata Vaishno Devi," he added.
42 Muslim students in Vaishno Devi Institute
Official sources say the Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence is not classified as a minority institution and therefore, the admission process was done as per the guidelines of the National Medical Council and the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) list.
In Jammu and Kashmir, there are 13 medical colleges and the Vaishno Devi medical college has started its first batch this year.
While admissions are based on the NEET merit list, with 85 per cent seats reserved for domiciles, of the 50 seats, only 8 Hindu students from Jammu have taken admission.
The Chief Minister has cautioned that if religion becomes a factor in institutional decisions, it may well influence other areas of governance.
Abdullah asked the BJP to go through the Act and the bill passed by the J&K Assembly. Neither have any clauses that allows the distribution of medical seats on religious lines.
"In the Act, it is stated that admission will be based on merit, not religion. Now, when admissions follow merit, some people are unhappy," the Chief Minister said.
