Sangh Parivar Protests Against Admission of Muslim Students in Institute Funded by Temple Donations
The Wire Staff
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New Delhi: Sangh Parivar affiliated outfits have launched protests in Jammu region with the demanding the scrapping of the admission list for the first batch of students of the Katra-based Shri Mata Vaishnodevi Institute of Medical Excellence.
The outfits, including the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal have made the demand citing the fact that 90% of the students are Muslims belonging to Kashmir and that an institute set up with donations offered to the Vaishno Devi shrine should not be dominated by members of the Muslim community. They have demanded that the seats should be reserved for Hindus, reported Indian Express.
The protests took place after the J&K Board of Professional Entrance Examinations (JKBOPEE) cleared a list of 50 candidates for the Vaishnodevi medical institute. While 42 of them hailed from Kashmir eight are from Jammu. So far, 36 students from Kashmir have taken admission, and three from Jammu have done so.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal have held protests outside the Katra institute and burnt the effigy of the Chief Executive Officer of the Vaishno Devi Shrine Board.
“We have no objection to candidates from Kashmir taking admission in any other medical college, but seats should be reserved for Hindu candidates in the Vaishnodevi college, as it has come up with Vaishno Devi shrine donations,” said Bajrang Dal J&K president Rakesh Bajrangi, reported the newspaper.
VHP J&K president Rajesh Gupta has demanded that admissions for the 2025-26 session should be put on hold, and termed the issue as “a conspiracy to Islamise the medical college”.
The newspaper cited officials who said on condition of anonymity that the admissions were in order, and as per National Medical Council (NMC) guidelines, which specify that admissions to all the 1,685 seats in the 13 medical colleges of J&K be done as per the NEET list. The other condition is that 85% of the seats be reserved for UT domiciles, with 15% open to candidates from the rest of the country.
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