Jammu and Kashmir People’s Democratic Party leader Iltija Mufti has slammed as bigotry the celebrations over the closure of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence (SMVDMC) in Reasi.
In a post on X, she wrote, “The heights of bigotry are Jammu celebrating the closure of a medical college only because it provided opportunities for Muslim students.”
The PDP leader’s statement came after the National Medical Commission (NMC) and its Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB) on Tuesday withdrew the letter of recognition granted to the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence for “non-compliance with minimum standards”.
Iltija compared the celebrations in Jammu over the closure of the medical college with those witnessed in Ladakh after the revocation of Article 370 in August 2019. She said, “Just like Ladakh in 2019, Jammu too is cutting off its nose to spite its face — our collective face and future. Alvida logic, vikas aur taraqqi.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah accused the NMC of playing with the future of students admitted to the SMVDMC. “They have played with the future of the students of J&K. This time, 40 out of 50 seats were allocated to Kashmiri students,” he said.
Meanwhile, students who were recently admitted to the college during counselling for the 2025–26 academic year will be accommodated in other medical institutions in J&K as supernumerary seats by the competent authority of the UT administration.
The decision came following an agitation by the Sangharsh Samiti, a recently formed conglomerate of right-wing outfits supported by the BJP, demanding cancellation of admissions to the medical college and seeking reservations of seats exclusively for students professing faith in Mata Vaishno Devi.
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