The new UGC (Promotion of Equity in Higher Educational Institutes) Regulations, 2026, have triggered significant unease within the ruling BJP, particularly in Uttar Pradesh, amid fears that the rules could be misused to harass general category students. Civil society organisations and bureaucrats have also raised concerns that the regulations may introduce bias in educational institutions.
Several BJP members have resigned in protest. Meanwhile, a PCS officer serving as city magistrate in Bareilly resigned, warning that the regulations could create internal unrest and subject general category students to false complaints.
UP MLC Devendra Pratap Singh, opposing the creation of an equity committee under the new rules, has written to the UGC demanding the regulations be scrapped. In his letter, Singh argued that provisions under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita already address discrimination against backward and Dalit students. “The committee should instead ensure that reserved category members are selected in recruitment and promotion,” he wrote.
Singh cautioned that the UGC’s decision could disrupt social harmony, fuel caste-based conflicts, and harm the academic environment. He warned that the regulations might be misused and stressed that no student should face injustice. “The regulations formed by you will become a powerful tool for the harassment of the general category. The UGC should focus on protecting Dalits and backward students, not making general category students insecure,” he wrote.
He also called for investment in research infrastructure, competitive salaries, academic independence, and the return of global Indian talent to strengthen the research ecosystem.
Equity Committee May Enable Harassment, Says PCS Officer
In Bareilly, PCS officer Alankar Agnihotri submitted a pointed resignation to the UP Governor and Chief Election Commissioner, criticising the UGC regulations and the alleged mistreatment of Batuk Brahmins at Prayagraj’s Magh Mela. Agnihotri called on Brahmin public representatives to resign in protest.
Speaking to the media, he condemned two recent incidents: the assault on Batuk Brahmins at the Magh Mela, and the publication of the UGC regulations, which he claimed unfairly target the general category. He warned that the equity committee could be used to file false complaints, leading to mental and physical harassment of students.
Agnihotri said, “If our sons are talented, their futures could be jeopardised by fake complaints. I am pained by these events and disappointed that public representatives have remained silent. I cannot remain part of a system where democracy seems replaced by the rule of money.”
He urged Brahmin leaders to resign if they had any honour left, asserting that the general category had withdrawn support from both central and state governments. Agnihotri was later seen protesting outside his office with a poster calling for a rollback of the “black UGC bill.”
Resignations and Political Opposition
In Lucknow, 11 BJP office-bearers resigned, citing the party’s departure from the principles of Deen Dayal Upadhyay and Shyama Prasad Mukherjee. Leading the resignations, Ankit Tiwari, general secretary of the BJP’s Kumharva Mandal, stated he would not participate in party events. Other resigning members included Alok Singh, Mahavir Singh, Mohit Mishra, Ved Prakash Singh, Neeraj Pandey, Anoop Singh, Raj Vikram Singh, Abhishek Awasthi, Vivek Singh, and Kamal Singh.
Former Kaiserganj MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh’s elder son and Gonda Sadar MLA Prateek Bhushan criticised the regulations on Facebook, urging a review of historical double standards that label a specific section of society as “historic criminals.” His brother, Karan Bhushan, serves on the parliamentary committee on education, women, children, youth, and sports. In Gautam Budh Nagar’s Jewar, the Rajput Karni Sena held a panchayat demanding a rollback of the UGC regulations, warning of large-scale protests if ignored. Farmer groups, including the Bharatiya Kisan Union-Bhanu, have also threatened democratic and legal action.
The UP police have acted against planned protests at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. Controversial seer Yati Narsinghanand Giri, who intended a sit-in protest, was placed under house arrest by Ghaziabad police last Friday.
