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SRINAGAR: Former J&K chief minister and PDP Mehbooba Mufti on Friday described the National Medical Commission’s order withdrawing permission to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence (SMVDIME) in Reasi to run an MBBS course as one with far-reaching consequences, warning that it could embolden “communal forces” across the country to exclude Kashmiri Muslim students from educational institutions.Mehbooba also questioned the role of J&K’s elected govt, stating that just hours before the NMC announced its decision, CM Omar Abdullah had publicly said the medical college should be shut. “Was there some understanding or discussion going on that whatever he said happened? The chief minister should have stood up against the decision to close the college,” she said, addressing a presser at PDP headquarters.She alleged that the decision was taken solely under pressure to remove Kashmiri Muslims from the medical institution. “The larger question is that Kashmiri Muslim students didn’t get space in their own state. If this is their fate in J&K, how will they be treated in other parts of the country?” she said.The NMC on Tuesday withdrew its Letter of Permission to start the MBBS course at SMVDIME with 50 seats for the 2025-26 academic year, citing major deficiencies in faculty strength, clinical material and infrastructure. It said students admitted during counselling would be accommodated in other govt medical colleges. Many political parties have questioned this, asking if the minimum standards were not met, how was the permission granted just four months ago, on Sept 8, 2025?Omar had on Thursday reacted strongly, saying people across the country fought to get medical colleges while those in Jammu were celebrating the shutting down of one after protests on religious lines. He said Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, which was running SMVDIME, should be asked why the NMC withdrew permission. “Who is the chancellor of the university? You should ask him too,” he told reporters.The chancellor of the university is LG Manoj Sinha.The controversy erupted in Nov last year after 42 of the 50 seats went to Muslim students, mostly from Kashmir, while only seven Hindu students from Jammu made the list.This led to protests by the Jammu-based Shri MataVaishno Devi Sangharsh Samiti, an umbrella group of about 60 religious and civil society groups, which argued that an institution funded by Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board should give preference to Hindu students.BJP later backed the agitation, with party leaders making representations to LG Sinha, who heads the shrine board. They sought a review of the admission policy, arguing that “faith” should be the admission criteria in a college run on the donation of Hindus.
