UGC row deepens: Bureaucrat quits, BJP leader resigns, minister evades media

The new UGC guidelines have triggered protests across states, with anger now spilling into the administration and political ranks as resignations begin to follow.

The University Grants Commission’s latest policy guidelines have triggered a widening political and bureaucratic backlash, with protests intensifying across states and pressure mounting on the government to respond. What began as opposition from students and teachers has now spilled into the administrative and political establishment.

A city magistrate in Uttar Pradesh has resigned in protest, a BJP Yuva Morcha leader has quit his post in Noida, and a Union minister has come under fire for publicly avoiding questions on the issue, together signalling that the UGC controversy is fast turning into a full-blown political flashpoint.

In Bareilly, City Magistrate Alankar Agnihotri resigned from his post, expressing anger over the UGC’s new regulations and what he described as concerns over the rights of children from the upper-caste community.

His resignation also referenced the incident in Prayagraj involving the alleged pulling of the hair knots of disciples of Shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand, which has fuelled further outrage among religious groups.

The move is being seen as an unusual and strong statement from within the bureaucracy, which typically avoids overt political positions on policy matters.

Administratively, the governor is the constitutional head of the bureaucracy, but resignations by officers such as city magistrates are routed through the district magistrate and forwarded to the state government’s appointment department.