Admissions to Vaishno Devi Medical College purely merit-based, not religious: J&K Dy CM

jammu: jammu and kashmir deputy chief minister surinder chaudhary on friday said that admissions to shri mata vaishno devi medical college were made strictly on the basis of merit through the national eligibility-cum-entrance test (neet) and should not be viewed from a religious perspective.speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a function marking the 120th birth anniversary of sher-e-kashmir sheikh muhammad abdullah, chaudhary said education should never be judged on the basis of religion. “the students who have secured admission are meritorious candidates selected through neet. this issue is being unnecessarily politicised,” he said.responding to the ongoing protest by the shri mata vaishno devi sangharsh samiti, the deputy chief minister alleged that the organisation does not represent the views of all sections of jammu. he claimed that its leadership is aligned with the bjp and accused the party of extending indirect support to the agitation.the protest erupted after 42 muslim, one sikh and seven hindu candidates were selected for the 50 sanctioned mbbs seats for the 2025-26 academic session, all through neet.targeting the bjp over its criticism of the admission framework, chaudhary said the party remained in power in jammu and kashmir for 11 years but never amended the act governing the institution. “the lieutenant governor is the chancellor of universities. so, who exactly is the bjp protesting against now?” he asked.