“We are not against entry of any particular community in education but this procedure exists in all communities. Other religious communities already have similar arrangements in their educational institutions. Why are Hindus deprived about it,” he said.

Sahni added that they were not in favour of cancellation of the current selection list but demanded that future admissions include a quota for Hindu students.

Other Hindu groups, including the Yuva Rajput Sabha and Movement Kalki, have also protested the selection of 42 Muslim candidates and demanded that institutions funded by shrine donations prioritise Hindu students.

J&K BJP leaders also demanded that admissions to SMVDIME be restricted only to students “having faith in Mata Vaishno Devi”.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah rejected the protests, reiterating that the selections were made purely on merit.

“When the J&K Assembly passed the Bill for establishment of Mata Vaishno Devi University, it was never mentioned that admissions would exclude students from any religion. When admission has taken place on the basis of merit, some people don’t like it. Admissions are meant to be merit-based, and if anyone wants them to be religion-based, then seek permission from the Supreme Court,” he said.

Stressing the importance of secularism, Omar said, “The word ‘secularism’ continues to be a part of our constitution. If you don’t want to keep this country secular, then remove this word from the constitution.” He added, “If tomorrow the government begins taking decisions based on religion, what will happen to social welfare schemes, will ration be distributed on the basis of religion and will policemen perform their duty on the basis of religion.”

Political parties criticised the BJP and other Hindu groups for attempting to “communalise medical sciences” and stressed that merit and fairness must remain central to admissions.