Srinagar: The suspension of academic work at a medical college in Katra district earlier this month appears to have emboldened the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) and its affiliates who are demanding the shifting of the upcoming National Law University (NLU) from Kashmir valley to Jammu. The demand for shifting the university has gained momentum after celebrations broke out in parts of Jammu last week over the cancellation of the registration of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence (SMVDIME) by the National Medical Commission (NMC), following protests by the Hindu rightwing groups.The controversy over the law university strikes at the heart of the divide in Jammu and Kashmir between the Hindu-majority Jammu which has emerged as a saffron party stronghold in recent years and Kashmir Valley where the opposition parties accuse the BJP of disempowering the majority Muslim community. The university is scheduled to begin operations from a temporary campus in Budgam district of central Kashmir from April this year.Upping the ante ahead of the upcoming session of the assembly which is set to convene in the winter capital from February 2, the J&K high court bar association (Jammu) which has the backing of the saffron party wrote to chief minister Omar Abdullah that the university should be shifted to Jammu.Also read: When a City Celebrates the Loss of Its Own Medical CollegeIn a representation to the chief minister on Monday (January 12), the bar president and senior advocate K. Nirmal Kishore Kotwal and treasurer Rahul Aggarwal sought to link the demand for shifting the university with the “post-reorganisation vision of inclusive growth and regional justice” in Jammu and Kashmir.The bar also alleged that if the university was set up in Kashmir Valley, it “would perpetuate regional imbalance”. It claimed that the “students from Jammu and other parts of the country may face logistical, climatic and accessibility challenges” if the university was set up in Kashmir.The chief minister has rejected the demand, arguing that two premier institutions – Indian Institute of Technology and Indian Institute of Management – were recently set up in Jammu. The two institutions were announced as part of the working agreement of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-BJP alliance which ruled the erstwhile state from 2015 to 2018. “There was no demand for regional balance at that time,” Abdullah said on Monday.However, in what appears to be a purported climbdown from his earlier position that Kashmir should host the law university, Abdullah added: “Even before a decision is taken, there are cries of discrimination. No decision has been made yet. Let’s decide first.” Speaking in J&K assembly last year in October ahead of the by-poll in Budgam constituency, the chief minister who has faced accusations of warming up to the BJP after coming to power, said that his government was identifying “potential sites” for setting up the university in the Union territory. “In my view, Ompora, Budgam (in central Kashmir), is a suitable location. It is a sprawling campus, currently unused. If no better site is available, the law university can start functioning from there until a permanent campus is developed,” he had said.Abdullah also pointed out that the final decision on the varsity’s permanent location was to be made after consulting other stakeholders including the chief justice of J&K high court and the Union territory’s chief secretary.The J&K assembly has already passed a resolution for setting up the law university in Srinagar and the chief minister’s remarks came on a private member resolution moved by the Congress legislator from north Kashmir’s Bandipora, Nizam-Ud-Din Bhat on the issue.“This House unanimously resolves to impress upon the Government to initiate the process of establishing the Jammu and Kashmir National Law University at Srinagar, without any further delay, as the funds earmarked for the first phase have already been provided,” the resolution which received strong bipartisan support and was passed by a voice vote last year, stated.After celebrating the closure of the medical college in Reasi district, the BJP and its affiliates have said that they would oppose the move to set up the law university in Kashmir, warning that its leaders would hit the streets if the Abdullah government doesn’t change its position “Jammu is an ideal place for the law university. We will ensure that this institution opens in Jammu only,” BJP legislator from Udhampur East R.S. Pathania said.The controversy has also heightened anxieties in Kashmir as it plays into the narratives of the Hindu rightwing groups who have blamed the alleged political and economic underdevelopment in Jammu on the people and political parties from the valley. However, Mir Mujeeb, a Kashmiri student leader said that a “small but vocal section” largely based in Jammu city has “increasingly sought to project itself as aggrieved, advancing a narrative of victimhood that does not withstand factual scrutiny”. “Jammu city remains among the most developed urban pockets in Jammu and Kashmir, with relatively superior infrastructure, administrative concentration, and access to opportunities. Against this backdrop, the current discourse appears to be emanating from a narrow fringe rather than a broad-based or region-wide sentiment,” he said.