New Delhi: Noted political scientist Yogendra Yadav is set to face the axe from the University Grants Commission (UGC).

As per reports on Thursday, the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development has issued a show-cause notice to Yadav, seeking his response within seven days on why he should not be removed from the post of member UGC.

In the notice issued yesterday, the ministry contended that since Yadav is now a senior leader of the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), he has a conflict of interest.

Yadav, who became a member of the UGC during Kapil Sibal's tenure, said he had offered to quit soon after he joined the AAP, but was asked to continue by the HRD Ministry itself.

He also noted that the UGC Act allows members to join any political party.

"What surprises me is that the ministry took 10 months to realise this. I had written to them that I had joined politics," Yadav said. "Clearly, it could be my political involvement. What doesn’t surprise me is the timing. The ministry had tried to change the fundamental tenets of higher education. I raised the issue and it was not political, but they suddenly found me uncomfortable," he added.

If Yadav is axed, it would be the first instance of a UGC member being removed in the Commission's six-decade history.

Source: Zee News, IBN Live