MBBS admission row: Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Sangharsh Samiti to intensify protests

A major controversy erupted across Jammu following admission of 42 Muslim students out of a total of 50 students in the first batch to the medical college

Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Sangharsh Samiti on Thursday decided to intensify it’s agitation through “Sanatan Jagran Yatra” and a signature campaign to press the government for rescinding first admission list to MBBS course and ensure admission to only Hindu candidates in Shri Mata Vaishno Devi medical college.

At a core committee meet held here, samiti president, Colonel (retd) Sukhvir Singh Mankotia, and the president of Shri Sanatan Dharam Sabha, Parshotam Dadhichi expressed resentment and stated that, with the connivance of the shrine board, all seats have been allotted to non-Sanatanis, which constitutes a grave injustice to the Sanatan society. (File)

A major controversy erupted across Jammu following admission of 42 Muslim students out of a total of 50 students in the first batch to the medical college.

At a core committee meet held here, samiti president, Colonel (retd) Sukhvir Singh Mankotia, and the president of Shri Sanatan Dharam Sabha, Parshotam Dadhichi expressed resentment and stated that, with the connivance of the shrine board, all seats have been allotted to non-Sanatanis, which constitutes a grave injustice to the Sanatan society.

On this occasion, various speakers launched a sharp attack on the functioning of the shrine board, stating that the Board was constituted in 1988 to ensure the proper and just management of the offerings made by devotees at the holy shrine. “The Board’s core mandate was to ensure the safety of pilgrims, facilitate smooth Darrshan, and promote Sanatan Dharma, including the running of Gurukuls and Gaushalas,” they said.

However, for the past two decades, these funds have been misused for the construction of hospitals, universities, and roads, which were essentially the responsibility of the government, they added.

Mankotia outlined the future course of action and stated that, in order to transform this struggle into a mass movement, a “Sanatan Jagran Yatra” will be launched across the entire region.

He further announced that a large-scale “signature campaign” would be conducted throughout the Jammu division to gather public support and opinion. “Simultaneously, protest demonstrations will be intensified to awaken the current LG administration and the Omar Abdullah government from their slumber,” he said.

It was unanimously decided that formal letters would be written to all MLAs of Jammu, clearly warning them to completely boycott the official programmes of the LG. “Additionally, the committee will soon invite the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Sunil Sharma to Geeta Bhawan so that he may publicly clarify his and his party’s stand on this issue,” said Dadhichi.

“The people have the right to know whether their elected representatives stand for the protection of Sanatan values or not,” Dadhichi said.