Omar slams right-wing groups for celebrating Jammu medical college shutdown
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Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday said he has ordered the immediate relocation of students admitted to the Mata Vaishno Devi Medical College to government medical institutions closer to their hometowns, following the withdrawal of permission for the college by the National Medical Commission (NMC).
The move comes a day after the NMC’s Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB) revoked the letter of permission granted to the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence in Reasi district for failing to meet minimum regulatory standards.
In its order, the MARB directed that all students admitted to the college during the counselling process for the 2025-26 academic year be accommodated as supernumerary seats in other medical institutions across Jammu and Kashmir by the Union Territory administration.
The withdrawal followed an agitation by the Sangharsh Samiti, a recently formed grouping of right-wing organisations backed by the Bharatiya Janata Party, which had demanded cancellation of admissions to the college and sought reservation of seats exclusively for students professing faith in Mata Vaishno Devi.
The outfit emerged soon after admissions to the inaugural MBBS batch of 50 students were completed through the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test merit list. Of the 50 students admitted, 42 were Muslims, mostly from Kashmir seven were Hindus from Jammu, and one was a Sikh. This composition triggered strong opposition from right-wing groups.
“I have directed the Health Minister, Sakina Itoo, to ensure that students affected by the withdrawal of permission to the Mata Vaishno Devi medical college are adjusted in government medical colleges near their homes,” Abdullah told reporters after chairing a district review meeting in Samba.
He said the process should be expedited so that the students are able to continue their medical education without disruption and later serve the people of the region.
The Chief Minister also strongly criticised right-wing outfits for celebrating the withdrawal of permission for the medical college.
“What is this happiness about? Across the country, people struggle to get medical colleges, and here a movement was launched to shut down a medical college and play with the future of Jammu and Kashmir’s children,” Abdullah said.
“If destroying children’s futures gives you happiness, then burst firecrackers. This time, out of 50 seats, 40 went to Kashmir. In one or two years, those 50 seats would have expanded to 400 seats. Out of those 400 seats, possibly 200 or 250 students would have been from Jammu. Tomorrow, those children will not get medical college seats because you got the entire college shut down in the name of religion,” he added.
Abdullah said the children who lose future opportunities because of the closure of the medical college would remember the Sangharsh Samiti “forever”.
Responding to a question on the Samba district review meeting, the Chief Minister said the district’s performance in development and governance had been largely satisfactory.
“There is a need to slightly speed up work in one or two areas. An inspection was conducted and instructions were issued. I hope that by March 31, when the financial year ends, the performance of Samba district will be noticeably better compared to other districts,” he said.
On controversies surrounding the selection of players for football and cricket teams, most of whom were reportedly from Kashmir, Abdullah said religion should have no role in sports.
“As far as I am concerned, I do not care what religion a player belongs to. I only care that the performance of the Jammu and Kashmir team should be good,” he said.
The Chief Minister added that he would meet the Under-16 cricket team on Thursday to personally congratulate them for lifting the Vijay Merchant Trophy for the first time.
“I hope that in the future as well, teams from here will continue to move forward and return with success,” he said.
With PTI inputs