Samiti holds shrine board responsible for medical college admission dispute

The Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Sangharsh Samiti, formed to protest the admission of a large number of non-Hindu candidates to the medical college established by the shrine, said on Tuesday that the ongoing controversy was not the fault of any student but of the Shrine Board.

Forty-two Muslim candidates secured admission to the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence (SMVDIME), which recently admitted its first batch of students. While the admissions followed the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) criteria, several Hindu organisations in Jammu have launched protests, arguing that an institution funded through donations made at the Hindu shrine should not admit non-Hindu students.

Sukhvir Singh Mankotia, president of the Samiti, in his first interaction with the media, asserted that the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board (SMVDSB) alone was responsible for the controversy. Lt Governor Manoj Sinha serves as the chairman of the Board.

“The students are not at fault, but their selection procedure was wrong. The constitution of the Shrine Board has been misused to give admission to non-Hindu students. Things that were not permitted were allowed,” Mankotia said, directly targeting the Board and the college administration.

The Sangharsh Samiti has warned that a mass agitation will be launched if the admissions of non-Hindu candidates are not rolled back. “We do not want the people of Jammu to suffer due to the repercussions that may follow if the authorities delay resolving the issue. It should be resolved immediately,” said Mankotia, who was accompanied by members of various Hindu groups.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had stated on Monday that admission to the institution should be based solely on merit, not religion.

Reacting to Abdullah’s remarks, Mankotia said the Chief Minister was “not authorised” to comment on the issue as he does not represent any religious organisation. “Only the Shrine Board or L-G Manoj Sinha can give a statement on this matter,” he said.

Mankotia further claimed that admitting Muslim candidates to a medical college linked to a Hindu shrine amounted, in his view, to an injustice to both communities. “As per my understanding of Islamic teachings, money derived from idol worship should not be used for the education of Muslims. The funds generated through idol worship are being used to run the medical college. I invite members of the Muslim community who are knowledgeable about their religion to join us in protesting this injustice,” he said.

He maintained that the admissions of non-Hindu students should be cancelled immediately.