Day after UPSC filed a complaint against Trainee IAS Puja Khedkar and canceled her nomination, UPSC (Union Public Service Commission) Chairman Manoj Soni tendered resignation from the post. However, he has cited personal reasons for is resignation. He has said that after his resignation, he will focus on social and religious work. He sent his resignation to the Department of Personnel (DOPT) 14 days ago, and information about this has come to light today.
The resignation has not been accepted yet as his tenure was till May 2029. He was sworn in as the Chairman of UPSC on 16 May 2023. After the information about the resignation came, Manoj Soni said that his resignation was not linked in any way to the controversies and allegations related to trainee IAS Pooja Khedkar.
Worked as VC for 15 years in 2 universities of Gujarat
Before being appointed as UPSC Chairman in 2017, Soni completed a tenure of 3 years as Vice Chancellor of two universities in Gujarat. Soni is considered close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In 2005, he was appointed as the Vice Chancellor of Vadodara University at the age of 40. With this, Soni became the youngest Vice Chancellor of the country. After this, till 2015, he completed two terms of 5 years as Vice Chancellor in Baba Saheb Ambedkar Open University (BBOU), a university of the Gujarat Government.