New Delhi: UPSC i.e. Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Chairman Manoj Soni has resigned before the end of his term. According to sources, UPSC Chairperson Manoj Soni has resigned due to personal reasons. Manoj Soni’s term was to end in 2029. But he resigned about five years ago. He joined the Union Public Service Commission as a member in the year 2017. He took oath as Chairman on 16 May 2023. This resignation has come at a time when the controversy of trainee IAS Pooja Khedkar is in the headlines.
According to ‘The Hindu’ report, Manoj Soni resigned about a month ago. The source further said that it is not yet clear whether his resignation will be accepted or not. The source also clarified that this resignation has nothing to do with the controversy related to UPSC candidates submitting fake certificates to get jobs. It is believed that Manoj Soni has submitted his resignation to the President of India. However, the government has not yet announced the name of the new chairman.
According to sources, Manoj Soni wants to devote more of his time to Anupam Mission, a branch of Swaminarayan sect in Gujarat. After receiving initiation in the year 2020, he became a sadhu or nishkam karmayogi in Anupam Mission. Soni is considered close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In 2005, when he was 40 years old, Narendra Modi appointed him as the Vice Chancellor of the famous MS University of Vadodara. In this way, he became the youngest Vice Chancellor of the country.
Before his appointment to UPSC in June 2017, Manoj Soni had served as Vice Chancellor three times in two universities in his home state Gujarat. Soni had served as Vice Chancellor of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University twice till 2015. Sources say that Manoj Soni’s resignation has nothing to do with the trainee IAS officer Pooja Khedkar controversy.
FIRST PUBLISHED : July 20, 2024, 09:37 IST