Amid the ongoing controversy regarding the use of fake caste and disability certificates by UPSC candidates for selection, news has emerged that Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Chairperson Manoj Soni has resigned.
According to a report by the English newspaper The Hindu, Manoj Soni, who took charge as the UPSC Chairperson in May 2022, still had 5 years left in his tenure.
Manoj Soni had submitted his resignation to the President a month ago, but the government has yet to decide on it.
The report stated that Soni's resignation is not related to the ongoing controversy.
Before being appointed as Chairperson, Dr Soni served as a Member of the Union Public Service Commission from June 28, 2017, to May 15, 2023.
Dr Soni served three terms as Vice-Chancellor; two consecutive terms as Vice-Chancellor of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University (BAOU) from August 1, 2009, to July 31, 2015, and one term as Vice-Chancellor of The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda (MSU of Baroda) from April 2005 to April 2008.
At the time of his joining MSU of Baroda, Dr Soni was the youngest ever Vice-Chancellor in India.
Soni has resigned citing personal reasons. The report, attributing sources, mentions that Dr Soni wants to devote more time to Anoopam Mission, a branch of the Swaminarayan Sect in Gujarat.
Before being promoted to UPSC Chairperson, he became a monk in the Mission after receiving diksha (initiation) in 2020, as per report.
