JAMMU — The Congress on Thursday targeted BJP president J P Nadda, accusing him of failing as the Union Health and Family Welfare Minister to protect the rights and religious sentiments of the Hindu community while granting recognition and permissions to the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence (SMVDIME).
Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) Working president Raman Bhalla said that the BJP “owes an explanation and an apology” instead of “vitiating the peaceful atmosphere to hide its own failures”.
“The BJP national president J P Nadda, who heads the Union Health and Family Welfare ministry and oversees the management of SMVDSB (Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board) and the institute, is responsible for failing to safeguard the rights and sentiments of the community while granting recognition to SMVDIME. The BJP must explain and apologise instead of rousing religious passions,” Bhalla told reporters here.
Flanked by chief spokesperson Ravinder Sharma, Bhalla questioned the BJP for “failing to ensure due care” in the matter and “now trying to politicise and communalise the situation for vested interests”.
The row erupted after SMVDIME, which received approval for 50 MBBS seats this year, admitted 42 students belonging to a particular community in Kashmir in its maiden 2025–26 batch. Several right-wing Hindu groups, along with the BJP, have since demanded that the institute be granted “minority institution” status or that the admission list be scrapped.
A memorandum has also been submitted to Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, seeking that admissions be limited to Hindu students or placed under the National Medical Commission (NMC).
Bhalla said that the Centre and the Shrine Board management — both under the BJP — should be held accountable for not taking steps earlier to respect the community’s religious sensitivities. “Who stopped them from adopting appropriate measures according to law and norms?” he asked.
Ravinder Sharma added that the Congress was not alleging any illegality in the selection process, which appeared to have been conducted according to rules. “Then why give it a communal twist? The authorities responsible — all from the BJP system — failed to safeguard the rights and sentiments of the Hindu community,” he said.
He further pointed out that similar safeguards already exist for other institutions in the region. “The BJP should blame itself instead of inciting people for political gains. Their MLAs, MPs and even a Union minister from Jammu should explain their silence and seek an apology for their failures,” Sharma said.
The Congress demanded that Nadda take “immediate corrective steps” to honour the community’s rights and sentiments “without disturbing peace and communal harmony in the region”.
On the occasion, the Congress also launched an online talent hunt to induct young, public-spirited individuals into its media departments at the district, state and national levels.
The initiative, guided by the AICC media department and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, invites applications until December 10, he added.
The process will be supervised by AICC spokesperson Charan Singh Sapra and senior leader Hari Shankar Gupta under the overall guidance of AICC media and publicity department chairman Pawan Khera, the party said. — (PTI)