Protests erupt over SMVDIME MBBS admissions
Dozens of protesters, led by the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Sangharsh Samiti, gathered outside Lok Bhavan in Jammu and burned an effigy of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Saturday. The angry protesters also demanded the cancellation of the inaugural MBBS admission list at the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence (SMVDIME), amid controversy over the merit-based selection process.
When these protests were going on outside the Lok Bhavan, LG Manoj Sinha was attending the 11th Convocation Ceremony of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University in Katra.
The members of the Sangarsh Samiti were also joined by several trade leaders, including the president of the Jammu Chamber of Commerce and Industries, Arun Gupta and women activists belonging to the JKBJP’s Mahila wing.
During the protests, the angry members of the Sangarsh Samiti were seen shouting slogans while attempting to break the tight cordon outside the Lok Bhavan.
The members of the Sangarsh Samiti warned against intensifying their stir if the office of the Lieutenant Governor failed to fulfil their demands. “We will continue our protest till the resolution of our genuine demands, which are related to our faith. We are not against students of any particular religion; we want the seats in the medical college to be reserved for Hindu students alone,” Samiti convener Colonel Sukhvir Singh Mankotia told reporters.
He said the protests were organised outside the Lok Bhavan because the Lt Governor is the chairman of the shrine board and it is his responsibility to ensure that the religious sentiments of any community should not be hurt.
Mankotia said the Government should close the medical college if there is any problem in reserving the seats for the Hindu students. The controversy began after admissions for the inaugural MBBS batch of 50 students were completed through the NEET merit list last month.
This batch includes 42 Muslim candidates, mostly from Kashmir, seven Hindu students from Jammu and one Sikh candidate.
