BJP Seeks Review of MBBS Admissions at Vaishno Devi Medical Institute After Protests

The Jammu and Kashmir unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has formally raised objections to the admission of Muslim students to the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence (SMVDIME), days after right-wing groups staged street demonstrations in Reasi district. 

A delegation led by Sunil Sharma, Leader of Opposition in the J&K Assembly, met Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Saturday and submitted a memorandum seeking a review of admission norms and “corrective measures”.

What led to the protest?

The controversy began after the institute released its first MBBS seat-allocation list for the 2025-26 academic year, which showed 42 Muslim students among the first batch of 50. Several Hindu organisations argued that an institution funded by the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board should prioritise Hindu representation. They demanded that the institute be declared a minority institution to permit community-based reservations.

BJP MLA from Udhampur, RS Pathania, echoed these concerns, stating that institutions created from the “devotion and offerings” of shrine pilgrims must reflect the temple’s ethos. He called for amendments to the Shrine Board Act and University Act.

Protests intensified earlier in the week as members of the Yuva Rajput Sabha, Rashtriya Bajrang Dal and Movement Kalki marched towards the university campus, forcing open a gate before being stopped by police. Protest leaders claimed that only seven Hindus and one Sikh were admitted, calling the distribution “unacceptable” and urging a fresh admission round.

What shrine board said?

SMVDIME officials maintained that all admissions were strictly merit-based, conducted through NEET, the national medical entrance examination. They emphasised that the institute does not have minority status and therefore cannot legally implement religious reservation.

The institute, sanctioned 50 MBBS seats this year, is fully funded by the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board. Protesters argued that donations made by Hindu devotees should translate into preferential admissions for the Hindu community. They warned they would intensify their agitation if the Shrine Board chairperson, Lt Governor Sinha, did not intervene.

Political reactions

As the controversy deepened, Jammu and Kashmir People’s Conference leader Sajad Lone sharply criticised what he described as an attempt to communalise medical education. Calling the uproar “a stretch”, he stressed that NEET is an all-India examination designed to select the “finest brains” in the country.

Lone warned that politicising admissions undermines decades of scientific progress. “Medical science needs researchers, not religious zealots,” he said, urging India to focus on innovation, global collaboration and strengthening its research culture. 

He lamented that political interference in a domain as crucial as medicine threatens to derail the country’s aspirations in scientific advancement.