Communal interference in SMVDIME admissions condemnable: Sajjad Shaheen

Srinagar, Nov 24: National Conference leader and MLA Banihal Sajjad Shaheen, has issued a sharp and unequivocal condemnation of the objections raised by BJP legislators in Jammu regarding the admission of Muslim students to the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence (SMVDIME).

Calling the move “blatantly communal, legally untenable, and a calculated attempt to disturb peace in Jammu & Kashmir,”  Shaheen said the BJP has once again exposed its divisive agenda at the cost of the region’s fragile harmony.

Shaheen stated that SMVDIME is not a minority institution, and therefore cannot, under any law or constitutional provision, implement religion-based reservation or exclusion. “To demand religious quotas in a professional medical college is not only unconstitutional but a shocking attempt to communalise education and undermine meritocracy,” he said.

The MLA expressed serious concern that certain BJP legislators, instead of upholding constitutional values, are actively encouraging communal polarisation by objecting to a merit-based selection list simply because a majority of selected candidates belong to a particular community. “Such conduct is unbecoming of public representatives and reflects a mindset that is dangerous for the unity and integrity of Jammu & Kashmir,” he added.