BJP urges J&K L-G to bar admission of Muslims at varsity
SOCIAL – EDUCATION
24 NOVEMBER 2025
- Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant-Governor (L-G) Manoj Sinha has accepted a memorandum of the BJP seeking to scrap the MBBS admission list, which has maximum Muslim qualifiers, and reserve all the seats for Hindus at the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University (SMVDU), Katra.
- The BJP and several right-wing parties in Jammu are up in arms against the admission list, in which 42 of the 50 qualified students are Muslims.
- A five-member BJP delegation, headed by Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Sunil Sharma met Mr. Sinha at the Raj Bhavan.
- The delegation sought Mr. Sinha’s intervention to amend the rules of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board and reserve the seats for Hindus only. The L-G is also the Chairman of the Board.
- The move evoked sharp reactions from several political parties. “It is unfortunate that the L-G has accepted such a divisive and communal memorandum. Across the country, students of all religions study in minority institutions. Many Hindu students study at the Aligarh Muslim University and the same is true of the Jamia Millia Islamia. No one has raised an objection to that ever,” NC spokesperson Imran Nabi Dar said.
- J&K government provides grant-in-aid to the university and the medical college affiliated to it.
- Another NC leader Tanvir Sadiq accused the BJP of “communalising institutions” and “dividing society”.
- “The university received ₹24 crore in 2024, and ₹28 crore in 2025. And when public money is involved, every citizen of this Union Territory has an equal right to be there,” Mr. Sadiq added.
- “If hospitals, schools, universities, and medical colleges start deciding intake on the basis of religion, what kind of country will we become?…This is a recipe for disaster,” Mr. Sadiq said.
- Chief Minister Omar Abdullah questioned the BJP’s move. “If you want only Hindus to be selected then it’s fine, as those not selected will get admissions in other colleges. But when you say that Muslims have become radical and sectarian, then do remember this also,” he said, adding that when the university came up, the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board should have asked for a minority status.
