Jammu/Srinagar: The NMC’s decision to withdraw permission granted for setting up an MBBS course in a Jammu college over its non-compliance of “minimum standards” has evoked mixed reactions, with the BJP and protest groups welcoming the move, while the NC, Congress and PDP have termed it a setback.
The Sangharsh Samiti, a recently formed conglomerate of right-wing organisations backed by the BJP, has been spearheading an agitation in Jammu since November, demanding the cancellation of admissions to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence (SMVDIME) and seeking reservation of seats exclusively for students professing faith in Mata Vaishno Devi (Hindus).
The Samiti emerged soon after admissions for the inaugural MBBS batch of 50 students was completed through the NEET merit list. Of these, 42 students are Muslims — mostly from Kashmir — seven are Hindu students from Jammu, and one a Sikh candidate.
The National Medical Commission on Tuesday withdrew the letter of permission granted to the institute in Jammu and Kashmir’s Reasi for not complying with minimum standards.
According to an official order, all students admitted to the college during the counselling for the academic year 2025-26 shall be accommodated in other medical institutions in J&K as supernumerary seats by the competent authority of the UT administration.
“We welcome the decision of the National Medical Commission’s Medical Assessment and Rating Board, Union Health Minister J P Nadda and Lt Governor Manoj Sinha for withdrawing the permission but at the same time securing the future of the students,” J&K BJP president Sat Sharma told reporters here.
He credited the groups who pressed for the cancellation of the admissions, saying the institute is run by donations by Hindus.
“I want to give the credit for this success to Mata Vaishno Devi because this was a matter of faith. Had this been the case with any other medical college, we would not have politicised the issue. NMC acted on the complaints and Nadda ensured that the future of the admitted students is secured which is worth praise,” Sharma said.
About the chief minister, he said, “(Omar) Abdullah has a habit of making such statements to remain in the limelight. His government has failed to provide even electricity and drinking water to the people. His government’s benchmarks are declining which is evident from results of the assembly bypolls in Budgam and Nagrota where NC lost both seats.”
The Sangharsh Samiti celebrated the decision with drum beats and sweets in Jammu.
“We call off our 45-day long successful agitation but we will continue to keep watch on the activities of Shrine Board which should work only for the welfare of the Hindus rather than interfering in government activities,” Samiti convener Col (retd) Sukhvir Singh Mankotia told reporters.
National Conference (NC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leaders criticised the BJP for the revocation of the college’s recognition over its “politics of division”.
Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Singh Choudhary criticised the BJP following the closure of the SMVDIME, saying the move has “destroyed Jammu” and jeopardised the future of the region’s youth.
Speaking to the reporters, Choudhary said, “If the BJP is celebrating victory, then this is the destruction of Jammu. People are suffering and yearning for a medical college.” He said the medical college belonged to the Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board and was established by the government.
“By shutting down the college, the BJP has ruined the future of Jammu’s children. If there were 50 seats today, there would have been 30 more seats tomorrow. The BJP should not celebrate today, instead, it should observe a black day,” he added.
The deputy chief minister alleged discrimination against the region, saying the “BJP has discriminated against Jammu in the worst possible way”. He said future generations would question the BJP on why the medical college was shut down.
Choudhary said that the NMC acted according to its mandate. “Whatever the NMC has done is correct. The question mark is on the BJP, which has caused this destruction of the Jammu region. If the NMC has rejected this, then who is at the Centre? It is the BJP’s government,” he added, claiming that the decision has caused losses to the entire Union Territory.
“It is unfortunate. People have been playing politics in the name of Mandir-Masjid, but today, we are playing politics in the name of admissions in big institutions based on religion and region,” Minister for Jal Shakti and Tribal Affairs Javed Rana told reporters.
Rana said his party has always maintained that the BJP’s intentions were not right and that such decisions take the country “back by a thousand years.
Asserting that J&K has always been an example to Hindu-Muslim bonhomie, Rana said the decision came after “an atmosphere was created” for it, a reference to protests in Jammu. He said the J&K government will make efforts to maintain religious brotherhood.
NC spokesperson Imran Nabi Dar said “constitutional bodies are coming under the pressure of the right wing”.
“…what explains how the NMC gave consent to the same college and revoked it after a month. Because of the BJP’s communal stance, J&K missed out on an opportunity to have one more medical college,” Dar said.
He added that across the country, people fight to get a medical college, but “here the BJP has ensured that J&K lost a medical college because of its communal politics”.
NC media in-charge (Pir Panjal) Vivek Sharma said an agitation, driven by “divisive politics” to target Muslim students under a false narrative, ended up hurting Hindu students as well.
He said students may still study in other institutions, but “hundreds of teaching and non-teaching jobs linked to the medical college stand effectively quashed, which is a direct blow to families, livelihoods, and the regional economy of Jammu.”
PDP MLA Waheed Para said the move sends a very negative message against the minorities across the country.
“It is unfortunate that the BJP, which is in power in Centre and also here because of UT, believes in division — institutional division — and disallows meritorious students on religious lines because they are Muslims.
“The registration of the institute has been cancelled because of that,” Para told reporters in Anantnag district.
PDP spokesperson Aditya Gupta held that both BJP and NC are responsible. “It is a big setback to Jammu and reflects betrayal by BJP with the people of the region,” he said.
The Congress said it was a “deliberate and unjustified blow” to the aspirations of the Jammu region.
J&K Congress Working President Raman Bhalla said the decision deprived students of advanced medical education, weakened healthcare infrastructure and closed potential employment avenues.
“This discriminatory move reflects the step-motherly treatment and continued neglect of Jammu,” Bhalla alleged during a mass contact program in the forward areas of the R S Pura border belt.
Bhalla also alleged a delay in giving compensation for losses suffered by farmers due to heavy rains and flash floods. He also said recruitment across departments have stalled due to the unresolved reservation policy, and demanded the regularisation of daily wagers and other workers.
