Ashu Kumar

Jammu Tawi, Dec. 14: Even as the controversy over regional bias in admissions to the SMVD Medical College, refuse to die down, another flashpoint has erupted—this time on the sports field. The selection of Jammu & Kashmir’s Santosh Trophy football team has triggered outrage across the Jammu region after the Sports Authority and the Jammu & Kashmir Football Association (JKFA) announced an all-Kashmir squad, completely excluding players from Jammu. The decision has revived long-standing allegations of discrimination, reinforcing perceptions that Jammu’s youth are being systematically side-lined in key institutional decisions, even in arenas meant to be merit-driven and apolitical like sports.

The row took a sharp political turn when the senior BJP leader and Bahu MLA Vikram Rand

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