Altaf Bukhari slams BJP leaders for ‘communalising’ admissions at Vaishno Devi Medical Institute

Srinagar: Apni Party President and former Jammu and Kashmir minister Altaf Bukhari on Sunday criticised BJP leaders for objecting to the admission of non-Hindu students at the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence (SMVDIME), calling their stance “deeply troubling” and harmful to India’s secular fabric.

His remarks came a day after BJP legislators met Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to oppose the institute’s maiden MBBS admission list, where 42 of the 50 seats for the 2025–26 batch were secured by Muslim students on merit. LG Sinha has also accepted the memorandum, The Hindu reported.

The meeting followed protests by right-wing groups in Reasi, who claimed that an institution funded by the Vaishno Devi Shrine Board should prioritise Hindu students.

Bukhari said fringe voices objecting to Muslim admissions could be ignored, but expressed shock that senior leaders such as Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma were “echoing the same tone and tenor.”

“How can a reputed institution like SMVDIME discriminate against students because of their religion?” Bukhari said.

“And if this logic is applied tomorrow to institutions like Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University or the Islamic University of Science and Technology—forcing them to admit only students from one community—what will happen to our social harmony and secular values?”

He warned that such a mindset mirrors the ideology “once pursued by leaders like Jinnah,” which he said caused “lasting damage to the subcontinent.” Bukhari added that it was “painful” to see attempts to block Muslim students from studying at the new medical college.

“I place my trust in the wisdom of the Hon’ble Prime Minister and the Hon’ble Home Minister to guide this matter in the right direction,” he said.

The controversy began earlier this week after SMVDIME issued its first-ever MBBS selection list. Following the announcement, BJP MLA R. S. Pathania argued that institutions funded by donations of Vaishno Devi devotees should reflect the shrine’s “spiritual character” and asked for amendments to the Shrine Board Act and the University Act.

Members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal and local groups also staged protests, describing the admissions as an “imbalance” and demanding government intervention.

Officials have maintained that the institute is not a minority institution and that religion-based quotas are illegal. They said the admissions were made strictly on merit.