The temporary closure of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence has given Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah fresh ammo to target the university’s chancellor, lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha.
Omar also asked the BJP to take responsibility for the institute’s failure to pass the inspection by the National Medical Commission and for destroying the prospects of students in the future.
Omar highlighted an irony that while the people in the rest of the country crave for a medical college, it was the only instance where an established medical college was shut because of protests by Right-wing groups.
Celebrations broke out among sections of Hindus in Jammu on Wednesday after the NMC’s Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB) withdrew the letter of permission granted to the medical college to run an MBBS course for 50 students in the current academic year, effectively bringing the curtains down on the college in the short run.
Right-wing and civil rights groups had formed the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Sangharsh Samiti, backed by the BJP, to launch a massive campaign against the admissions, arguing that the large Muslim presence went against their faith as the college was purportedly run on donations collected from Hindu devotees.
An NMC order said the permission was withdrawn on the basis of a recent surprise inspection that showed serious deficiencies in faculty strength, clinical material and infrastructure, although many here believe the decision was taken on the Centre’s direction.
Omar on Thursday said the students admitted to the college would be moved to other medical colleges close to their homes following the NMC direction.
The chief minister said the process should be expedited so that their academic year is saved. Omar expressed surprise over the celebrations by the Right-wing outfits in Jammu.
“What is this happiness all about? The people in the country crave medical colleges. We are the only place where an established medical college was shut following an agitation,” he said.
Omar said they were free to burst crackers if destroying children’s futures gave them happiness, pointing to the potential loss of Jammu students in future.
“This time, out of 50 seats, 40 have gone to Kashmir. After one or two years, these 50 seats would have become 400 seats. Out of those 400 seats, possibly 200 or 250 children would have been from Jammu. Where will they go?” he asked.
Omar blamed LG Sinha for the college’s failure. “Tell me who had conducted the inspections (in the first place) and if it was done, how did the institute clear them? They are celebrating but you are not asking the questions. You should ask the office-bearers of the university, from top to bottom, that if you built a medical college why did it not pass the inspection?” he said.
“Who is heading the university? Who is the chancellor of the university? You should ask him? You come to ask me questions. You should go there as well. The BJP is rejoicing that the university did not maintain standards. If it did not maintain standards, who is responsible? What action will be taken against them? Somebody should be answerable for playing with the future of students.”
