Bareilly City Magistrate Alankar Agnihotri resigned from government service on Monday, citing strong disagreement with prevailing government policies, particularly the newly introduced University Grants Commission (UGC) regulations, officials said.
Agnihotri described the new UGC rules as a “black law”, alleging that they are adversely affecting the academic atmosphere in colleges and universities and could potentially fuel caste-based tensions. He asserted that the regulations should be withdrawn immediately, warning that they risk vitiating the educational environment rather than improving it.
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The new UGC regulations were introduced with the objective of preventing caste-based discrimination in higher educational institutions. The rules mandate the formation of special committees, helplines and monitoring teams to address grievances, especially those raised by students belonging to Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC).
A 2019-batch Provincial Civil Service (PCS) officer, Agnihotri submitted his resignation via email to Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel and Bareilly District Magistrate Avinash Singh.
The resignation sparked sharp political reactions, with several leaders terming the move a serious indicator of mounting administrative pressure and raising concerns over policy implementation and bureaucratic autonomy.
(This story is published from a syndicated feed)
