'Union Pracharak Sangh Commission': Rahul on Appointment of New UPSC Chairman

There are allegations that Manoj Soni has close ties with the BJP and the RSS.

File photo of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, used for representative purposes. 

(Photo: PTI)

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday, 18 April, attacked the Centre over the appointment of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) chairman, Manoj Soni, who is said to have close ties with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

"Union Pracharak Sangh Commission. India's Constitution is being demolished, one Institution at a time," Rahul Gandhi said in his tweet.

There are allegations from different quarters that he has close ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), while the UPSC should be a neutral body.

Soni, a Mumbai-born academician, was the vice-chancellor of the Maharaja Sayajirao University in Gujarat's Vadodara, and has been linked to the Swaminarayan sect in Gujarat.

UPSC is responsible for the recruitment of officers for various All India Services, including IAS, Army and other services. In the past, the UPSC chairpersons have been former officers of the Indian Administrative Service.

(Edited for language.)