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SRINAGAR: BJP, VHP and Bajrang Dal have objected to admissions of Muslim students, mostly from Kashmir, to Mata Vaishno Devi Medical College in Katra after freshers from the community formed the bulk of the institution’s first batch.This marks a potential new Jammu versus Kashmir political row as J&K’s governing National Conference (NC) and opposition PDP have slammed the objections. Although the college filled seats strictly on NEET’s merit list and reserved 85% of its seats for J&K domiciles, only eight Hindu students from Jammu made it to the first MBBS batch of 50.After the admissions were completed earlier this month, VHP and Bajrang Dal were the first to protest, arguing that an institution funded by Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board should give preference to Hindus only. They also insisted that the college, funded through donations from Hindu devotees, should serve Hindus’ interests.On Saturday, BJP’s Sunil Sharma formally lodged a protest with J&K lieutenant-governor (LG) Manoj Sinha, who is ex-officio chairman of the shrine board, submitting a memorandum seeking corrective measures and a review of admission norms.Without seeking minority status for the medical college, Sharma made it clear that his party had objected to the intake of “the majority of students from a particular community”. “Donations to the shrine board come from Hindus, for the welfare of Hindus. We are upset with the board and the college because they did not consider this sentiment. We told the LG that only those who have faith in Mata Vaishno Devi should get admission. This year’s admission is not acceptable to people here. The rules should be changed,” Sharma said.In Kashmir, where medical studies are preferred by many, BJP’s protests have not gone down well. “If hospitals, schools, universities, and medical colleges start deciding intakes on the basis of religion, what kind of country will we become? Tomorrow, will a patient be treated according to their faith? Will merit be pushed aside to satisfy majoritarian demands? This is a recipe for disaster,” NC MLA and spokesperson Tanvir Sadiq said.BJP’s stance on Vaishno Devi Medical College, where selections are purely merit-based, is not just misguided but dangerous, Sadiq argued. “A shrine-funded institution does not become a religion-based institution. Donations made out of devotion cannot be converted into tools of discrimination,” Sadiq added, urging BJP not to turn our institutions into “battlegrounds of faith”.PDP’s Iltija Mufti criticised BJP’s stand but did so while taking a dig at NC and its CM Omar Abdullah. “In ‘Naya Kashmir’, discrimination towards Muslims now extends to education. The irony is that this anti-Muslim apartheid is being legitimised and carried out in India’s only Muslim majority state with its only Muslim chief minister,” Iltija said.Peoples Conference chairman and legislator Sajad Lone alleged that BJP’s stance amounted to “experimenting with the concept of communalising medical sciences”. “I hope they understand there is a proper admission test called NEET. And that is an all-India test,” Lone said.
