Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday said imposing the National Eligibility and Entrance Test on the state was a violation of its special status and autonomy, reported The Indian Express. The Supreme Court has recently made it mandatory for all states to conduct the common test for medical courses (MBBS and BDS), thus scrapping separate tests held by states for the same.

“Initially, medical education was in the state list. Some time ago, it was brought into the concurrent list across the country other than J&K. So when the Centre decided to hold NEET as a single common entrance test for the entire country, it wasn’t applicable to us…Medical education is expressly in the state list for J&K and not in the concurrent list. This means that the Centre doesn’t have the powers to hold this entrance test in J&K,’’ said Abdullah. The National Conference leader said his party had raised the issue with the Centre when it was in power.

Opposing the move to bring the state under the purview of NEET, Hurriyat chief Syed Ali Geelani said that treating Jammu and Kashmir on par with other states "does not fulfill the parameters of justice and the said court decision had also neglected the special status and sensitivity of this state”, reported Kashmir Reader.