The withdrawal of permission to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence in Katra for its MBBS programme as a device to prevent 42 Muslim students from pursuing the course is an indefensible decision. The National Medical Council has bowed to an obvious political diktat that followed protests by a Jammu-based Sangharsh Samiti against admitting Muslim candidates in a Hindu institution. The NMC’s status as a professional and neutral regulatory body is in jeopardy. Candidates displaced because of the decision not to allow the 50 seats will now have to join other institutes, some closer to their homes, under J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s initiative. The CM rightly demanded fixing of responsibility and a probe to prove the........

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