BJP objects to Muslim intake in Vaishno Devi Medical College, stirs row

A political row has erupted in Jammu and Kashmir after Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha accepted a memorandum submitted by the Bharatiya Janata Party seeking to scrap the admission list at the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence, as 42 of the 50 selected students are Muslims, The Hindu reported on Sunday.

While the ruling National Conference has described the memorandum as “divisive and communal”, the Opposition Peoples Democratic Party stated that the BJP’s move was “shameful”.

On Saturday, the BJP, along with Hindutva organisations the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal, asked Sinha to amend admission rules and reserve all seats at the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University for Hindu students.