A political row has erupted in Jammu and Kashmir after Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha accepted a memorandum submitted by the Bharatiya Janata Party seeking to scrap the admission list at the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence, as 42 of the 50 selected students are Muslims, The Hindu reported on Sunday.

While the ruling National Conference has described the memorandum as “divisive and communal”, the Opposition Peoples Democratic Party stated that the BJP’s move was “shameful”.

On Saturday, the BJP, along with Hindutva organisations the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal, asked Sinha to amend admission rules and reserve all seats at the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University for Hindu students.

The lieutenant governor serves as the chairman of the Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, which runs the institution.

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal are part of a group of Hindutva organisations led by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the parent organisation of the ruling BJP at the Centre.

The Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University is not a minority institution. Therefore, religion cannot be a factor for admissions to the university.

Unidentified officials had told The Indian Express that admissions to the medical course were done according to the National Medical Commission rules. Of the 50 seats, 85% are reserved for Jammu and Kashmir domiciles and 15%...

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