Manoj Soni, the chairperson of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), submitted his resignation nearly five years ahead of his term’s expiration. A source close to the matter told The Hindu that Soni resigned from the post due to some “personal reasons”.
In 2017, the official became a member of the commission. On May 16, 2023, he took the oath of office as the commission’s chairman. Soni’s term was set to expire in 2029. “He left almost a month ago,” The Hindu was informed by a reliable source. Additionally, the source stated that it was unclear if Soni’s resignation would be accepted or not.
However, the anonymous source made it clear that the resignation was not linked to the recent controversies regarding UPSC candidates securing their seats by presenting fake certificates.
Soni reportedly submitted the resignation to the President of India. However, the government has yet to accept his resignation. Hence, it is still not clear if he will be relieved from his position or not. The government is also due to announce the name of the new chairperson to replace Soni.
According to The Hindu, Soni was considered close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It was PM Modi who picked him as the Vice-Chancellor of Vadodara’s famous MS University in 2005 when he was just 40 years old. This made him the youngest V-C in the country.
Before his appointment in UPSC, Soni served three terms as Vice-Chancellor in two universities, in Gujarat. He served as the VC Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University (BAOU) for two terms till 2015.
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Source: Firstpost
