Yuva Rajput Sabha holds protest against shrine board in Jammu

The Yuva Rajput Sabha (YRS) on Monday staged a protest demonstration at the Tawi Bridge here, criticising the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board (SMVDSB) over what it alleged was a discriminatory and insensitive admission process at the medical college run by the Board.

The Sabha expressed anger over the allocation of 42 out of 50 MBBS seats to non-Hindu students, terming it a grave injustice to Hindu aspirants and an affront to the sentiments of devotees of Mata Vaishno Devi. Hundreds of YRS members and volunteers participated in the demonstration, raising slogans and demanding an immediate review of the admission list.

Protesters also raised slogans against the government and the Lieutenant Governor’s administration, accusing them of denying Hindus community-based reservation on the pattern of Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University, Islamic University and Mahant Bijender Singh institutions, which they claimed provide community quotas.

YRS president Mandeep Singh Rimpy, who led the protest, said the Shrine Board owes its existence to the faith and offerings of the Hindu community, and therefore institutions run by it must safeguard the interests of Hindu youth. He alleged that allocating 42 of 50 seats to non-Hindu students was not merely an irregularity but “a clear case of discrimination” against Hindu aspirants.

Rimpy demanded that mandatory provisions be framed to ensure priority for Hindu students not only in the MBBS programme but also in all academic and professional courses run by Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University (SMVDU). He added that institutions funded by religious boards across the country already follow community-centric policies, and the same should be implemented by SMVDSB.

Warning of intensified agitation across the Union Territory if corrective steps were not taken, Rimpy said the YRS fully supports the Shri Mata Vaishnodevi Sangharsh Samiti (SMVSS), a coalition spearheading the movement.

The Sabha also appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to amend the Act and bylaws governing the university.