JAMMU — In a massive show of strength, hundreds of students and youth activists led by prominent social activist Harshvardhan Singh held a fierce protest demonstration at the historic Jewel Chowk today. The protesters voiced their strong objection to the National Medical Commission’s (NMC) withdrawal of permission for the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence (SMVDIME), labeling it a “dark day” for the educational aspirations of Jammu.
The demonstration, which saw a heavy turnout of students and civil society members, brought traffic at the busy junction to a standstill for several hours. Protesters carried placards reading “Save Our Medical College” and “Stop Politicizing Merit,” while raising slogans against the UT Administration and the BJP for allegedly engineering the closure of the institution to settle a communal controversy.
Addressing the gathering at Jewel Chowk, Harshvardhan Singh launched a blistering attack on the BJP, accusing the party of orchestrating a “manufactured deficiency report” through the NMC to shut down the college rather than defending the merit-based selection of its first MBBS batch.
“Today, Jewel Chowk stands witness to the anger of the youth who see their future being bartered for cheap political gains,” Singh declared. “The BJP and the UT administration have committed a historic blunder. By allowing this college to be shut down, they haven’t just lost 50 seats; they have destroyed an institution that took years and crores of public money to build. This is nothing but a political surrender to divisive forces.”
During the protest, Singh highlighted the following points:
Betrayal of Jammu’s Interest: He noted that while the BJP claims to champion Jammu’s development, they have remained silent as a premier medical facility in the region was “sacrificed” on the altar of communal politics.
Infrastructure Farce: Singh questioned how a “surprise inspection” suddenly found massive deficiencies in an institution that had been granted a Letter of Permission just months prior. He called for a high-level probe into the timing and motives of the NMC’s latest report.
Merit vs. Politics: He stated that the youth of Jammu will not tolerate a system where a student’s hard-earned NEET rank is invalidated by the religious demands of political groups.
“We are here to tell the government that the youth will not stay silent while you dismantle our institutions,” Singh told the cheering crowd. “If the administration thinks that shifting 50 students to other colleges ends the matter, they are mistaken. We demand the immediate rectification of deficiencies and the full restoration of SMVD Medical College.”
The protest concluded with a warning that if the decision is not reviewed, the youth of Jammu would intensify their agitation across all districts of the division.
