Jammu ~ A major political controversy has broken out in Jammu and Kashmir after BJP legislators demanded cancellation of the first MBBS admission list of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence (SMVDIME), claiming that a majority of admitted students belong to one community and insisting that seats be reserved only for those “who have faith in Mata Vaishno Devi”.

A BJP delegation led by Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Sunil Sharma met Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and demanded that the sanctioned 50 seats—42 of which went to Kashmiri Muslim students—be allocated on religious grounds, while also seeking “minority institution” status for the new medical college.

Officials, however, clarified that SMVDIME is a publicly-funded institution established under a J&K As

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