Srinagar: National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Thursday criticised the closure of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence in Jammu and Kashmir’s Reasi district, calling the move “wrong” and an “injustice” to students.
“This is wrong. This is definitely injustice,” Abdullah told reporters in Srinagar, expressing sadness over what he described as “the way our nation is going”.
The former Chief Minister was reacting to the decision of the Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB) of the National Medical Commission (NMC) to withdraw the institute’s letter of recognition for failing to comply with minimum standards.
Following the withdrawal, MARB said that all students admitted to the college through counselling for the 2025–26 academic year would be accommodated in other medical institutions across Jammu and Kashmir as supernumerary seats by the competent authority of the Union Territory administration.
The decision came in the wake of protests by the Sangharsh Samiti, a recently formed conglomerate of right-wing outfits backed by the Bharatiya Janata Party, which demanded cancellation of admissions to the college and sought reservation of seats exclusively for students professing faith in Mata Vaishno Devi.
With PTI inputs