Chief minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday dared the BJP to go ahead with its demand to convert Mata Vaishno Devi University into a gurukul or a minority institution, warning that his administration could stop grants in aid to the college and seek compensation for the government land allotted to it.
The controversy surrounding the protests against the admission of Muslim students to the medical college of the university has escalated after Jammu and Kashmir’s leader of the Opposition, Sunil Sharma of the BJP, favoured converting the university into a gurukul and said it was inappropriate to use the funds collected in the name of the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine for imparting modern education.
Sharma on Tuesday led a delegation of BJP MLAs to Union health minister J.P. Nadda to seek his intervention in solving the issue of Muslim admissions to the college.
The BJP had earlier batted for cent per cent reservation for Hindu students in the college because it was run with funds collected from pilgrims visiting the shrine. There have been protests in Jammu over Muslim students accounting for 42 of the 50 MBBS admissions at the medical college.
Sharma has given a new twist to the controversy, saying they are against the conversion of the university to a minority institution. Hindus are a minority in Jammu and Kashmir. The BJP had come under criticism for “communalising” admissions.
After meeting Nadda, Sharma told a television channel in Delhi that there was no demand to convert the university into a minority institution. Sharma said the donations collected at the shrine were for the propagation and strengthening of religion and not for modern education.
“We believe it is not appropriate to use this money for imparting modern education. It is better not to set up such an institution there. There should be a gurukul there, a Veda research centre or some big institution of ayurveda. We are focusing more on this and not on a minority institution,” he said.
The BJP leader also drew Nadda’s attention to the seat allocation process. “While we support merit-based admissions, it’s equally important to ensure that the process is fair, transparent, and free from discrepancies,” Sharma posted on social media.
Responding to the call to convert the university into a gurukul, Omar asked the BJP to go ahead with its demand. “Nobody has stopped them. Let them set up a gurukul there. If you want to distribute seats on a religious basis, let them keep it for minorities. (In that case) we will put the grants in aid made by the government to some other use. We have no objection,” he said.
“(Similarly), you pay the cost of (state) land allotted (to the university) and stop taking the grants in aid. Change its status and come as a minority institution. After that, if you want to distribute seats on the basis of religion, you do it.”
Omar said the medical entrance exam NEET was based on merit. “If your kids don’t have the merit, how can you hold somebody else responsible for it?” the chief minister asked.