Congress Leader and MP Rahul Gandhi gave a new expansion to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and called it the “Union Pracharak Sangh Commission”.
It is clear that he said this due to the appointment of an official Manoj Soni as the UPSC’s new Chairman recently. Manoj reportedly has close affinity with both the Bharatiya Janata Party and the right-wing Hindu organization RSS.
Mr.Gandhi wrote “India’s Constitution is being demolished, one Institution at a time,” on Twitter. He also shared an article by nationally reputed news website The Wire which shared information about the new Chair of the Commission.
Union Pracharak Sangh Commission.
India’s Constitution is being demolished, one Institution at a time. pic.twitter.com/8HEMnmVyTo
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) April 18, 2022
He is believed to be one of the speech-writers for Narendra Modi during his tenure as the Chief Minister of Gujarat. When Manoj became the Vice-Chancellor of a University in Gujarat, he is believed to have allowed RSS and BJP men influence the key decisions that were taken by the University.
While UPSC had been headed mostly by accomplished IAS officials and very eminent academicians with brilliant academic records, the appointment of a person who reportedly has a close relationship with BJP and a right-wing group raises questions.
Speaking to The Wire, Apoorvanand, a teacher at Delhi University and columnist, says, “The promotion of such a person, to the post of chairman of UPSC, has a clear meaning that now this institution, which ideally should be free of the influence of political bosses, will not have neutral appointments. It is now clear that while earlier lateral entries had started, now all the appointments to key posts will be ideologically coloured.”