Srinagar, Dec 02: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday said that seats in medical colleges cannot be allocated on religious lines, insisting that admissions will continue strictly on NEET merit and that no institution can override the Constitution for “religious preferences.”
Speaking to reporters during his visit to Rajouri, Omar said the bad condition of the roads was not due to lack of work but because major widening, four-laning and tunnel projects were underway across the region.
“I left Srinagar at 6:30 am and travelled through Mughal Road, Baflaiz, Poonch and Rajouri. I saw the situation myself. The work is going on, but the existing stretch that is being used during tunnel construction must be maintained properly, which is not happening,” he said, adding that he will share a detailed report with the Ministry of Defence, which oversees the Border Roads Organisation (BRO).
Responding to concerns raised by locals about bunkers in border areas, Omar said the government was trying to maintain peace and ensure safety.
“Some people demand individual bunkers, but it’s not possible to build one for every household. Where possible, individual bunkers will come up, and where it is not feasible, community bunkers will be provided,” he said.
On the controversy over admission to MBBS seats in a university-run medical college, Omar opposed the idea of distributing seats on the basis of religion.
“When the medical college was set up inside a university, they did it knowing well that seats cannot be divided on religious grounds. Admissions are done through NEET, and only merit is considered,” he said.
He added that punishing students who secured seats purely on merit just because they belong to a different religion is “against the law, the Constitution, and the university’s own policies.”
“If they want to make it a religion-specific institution, they should first stop taking government grants and return the land they got for free. After that, they can change their own rules,” he said.
To a question about the demolition of a journalist’s house, Omar reiterated that his administration had no role in the matter. “This was not done by us. Whoever appointed the officer who carried out this action, ask them when they come here,” he said.
