Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday took strong exception to the BJP's stance on the first admissions in the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence, and said any move to grant MBBS seats without merit would require the Supreme Court's approval, PTI reported.
The Constitution has a word, 'secular', and if they (BJP) do not want to keep the country secular, they should first remove the word, Abdullah said.
Talking to reporters after the e-auction of seven limestone blocks in Anantnag, Rajouri and Poonch districts, Abdullah said he failed to understand all the "fuss" over the selection of the majority of candidates from a particular community in the first list of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence (SMVDIME).
Union minister G Kishan Reddy and Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary were also present at the e-auction covering about 314 hectares of land.
"When the Assembly passed the Bill for the establishment of the Mata Vaishno Devi University, where was it written that students from a particular religion will be kept outside its purview? At that time, it was said that admissions will not be given on the basis of religion but only on the basis of merit," the chief minister said.
The SMVDIME was sanctioned 50 MBBS seats this year. However, admissions given to 42 students were Muslims in the maiden batch for the 2025-26 academic year, and it has sparked a controversy, with right-wing Hindu groups questioning the process and demanding "minority institution" status for the newly-established institute.
Officials informed that admissions were given on merit as the institute had not been granted minority status and, therefore, no reservation criteria based on religion could be applied.