SRINAGAR: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday hit out at Hindu groups and the BJP after they celebrated the closure of the Vaishno Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence (SMVDIME) in Katra, Jammu and Kashmir.
"In other parts of the country, people fight to bring medical college to the place but here they fought to close the medical college," he said. His remarks came after the National Medical Commission (NMC) withdrew recognition of the institute amid a row over the admission of Muslim students.
Hindu groups, including the Rashtriya Bajrang Dal and the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Sangarsh Samiti (SMVDSS), along with the BJP, celebrated the closure of the medical college.
"You have played with the future of J&K youth. If you feel happy about destroying the future of J&K youth, then celebrate and burst crackers,” Omar told reporters in Samba.
On Tuesday evening, NMC cancelled the Letter of Permission (LoP) granted to SMVDIME to run a 50-seat MBBS course for the academic year 2025–26, citing significant deficiencies in infrastructure, faculty and clinical facilities.
It also directed that students admitted for 2025–26 session should be accommodated as supernumerary seats in other government medical colleges in J&K.
The withdrawal of recognition to the medical college was celebrated in Jammu by Hindu groups such as Rashtriya Bajrang Dal, Yuva Rajput Sabha and Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Sangarsh Samiti (SMVDSS). The BJP also welcomed the closure of the medical college.
The selection of 42 Muslims and one Sikh student in the first batch of 50 students in the SMVDIME had created controversy. The BJP and other Hindu groups opposed the selection of non-Hindus in the medical college, saying the Shrine board is being run by donations of Hindus and only Hindu students should be admitted there.
About 60 Hindu groups formed Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Sangarsh Samiti (SMVDSS) to spearhead agitation initially for cancelling the admission of Muslim students and later for the closure of the medical college.
“This year out of 50 seats, 40 students were from the Valley. In the next few years, these 50 seats would have increased to 400 seats. There is a possibility that 200-250 of those students would have been from Jammu. Now they won’t get medical seats because you have closed the entire medical college in the name of the religion,” Omar said.
“For this reason, I had said yesterday to close the medical college. It is better they have closed it. Now the selected candidates can be adjusted to other medical colleges of J&K. I have told the Health Minister to get them adjusted in medical colleges close to their homes so that they can become doctors and serve people here,” he said.
According to the CM, those students who won’t get medical seats in future because of the closure of the medical college, should always remember the Sangarsh Samiti people for it.
The ruling NC expressed outrage over withdrawal of permission granted to SMVDIME, terming it a cruel betrayal by BJP with the youth of J&K.
“The move exposes BJP’s reckless and insensitive approach towards education,” NC spokesman Imran Nabi Dar said.
He said BJP is playing dangerous politics with the careers of young people. “This is perhaps the first instance in independent India where a communally divisive party is celebrating the derecognition of a medical college. This is a dystopia in practice and a tragic moment for the people of Jammu," he said.
Imran said the decision is neither accidental nor technical but a direct outcome of criminal negligence and a deeply flawed administrative and communal mindset.
“Despite having complete control at the Centre and in the Union Territory, BJP failed to ensure even basic compliance with mandatory Medical Council norms. The sudden emergence of such discrepancies raises serious questions and exposes this move as a smokescreen to hide the BJP’s divisive agenda,” he added.
J&K Apni Party senior vice president Ghulam Hassan Mir expressed serious concern over the NMC decision to withdraw the Letter of Permission (LoP) granted to SMVDIME for running an MBBS course for the 2025–26 academic session.
"The NMC must answer an important question—why was SMVDIME earlier declared eligible to function as a medical college, and why has it now been found ineligible, in a year's time? Who will take responsibility for the suffering of the students who are now facing uncertainty?," he asked.
He said the authorities of SMVDIME must also be held accountable for the situation.