The University Grants Commission's new regulations to promote equity in higher education caused protests in Uttar Pradesh on January 27, 2026. Students at Lucknow University staged a sit-in at the main gate, claiming the rules would harm their studies and future. They shouted slogans against the UGC, fearing caste conflict and campus unrest. Anmol Singh, an LLB student, said, "We demand that the UGC reconsider the framework and initiate a wider, inclusive dialogue before enforcing the new rules. These rules disturb the social balance." The controversy also split the BJP. Some local leaders resigned from their party posts in protest. Mrigendra Upadhyay of Balrampur said the rules unfairly target upper caste students. He added, "We need strong upper caste leaders to fight for our rights and raise our voice against discrimination in any form." A few BJP district officials in Lucknow left their posts in protest. Earlier, BJP UP Legislative Council member Devendra Pratap Singh called for a broader discussion on the rules. On January 26, the UP government suspended Bareilly City Magistrate and PCS officer Alankar Agnihotri after he resigned citing disagreement with government policies, including the UGC rules. The government accused him of indiscipline based on a report by the Bareilly District Magistrate. The suspension order said, "Acting under Rule 4 and Rule 7 of the Uttar Pradesh Government Servants (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1999, the government put the 2019-batch officer under immediate suspension and appointed the commissioner, Bareilly division, as the inquiry officer to conduct a detailed probe." Mr. Agnihotri called the UGC rules a "black law" and alleged they could cause social unrest and an "anti-Brahmin campaign" in UP. He sent his resignation by email to the Governor and District Magistrate. Known for his firm style, he previously served in Unnao, Balrampur, and Lucknow. Senior BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Dinesh Sharma dismissed the officer's actions as politically motivated. He said, "I neither know him nor have I heard about him. There are many people who smell politics, and then such people start finding excuses to do politics." UP Congress president Ajay Rai accused the BJP of using the UGC rules to divide society. He said, "The BJP earlier resorted to Hindu-Muslim polarisation to hide their failure, and now trying to divide people through the UGC framework. I believe they (the BJP-led government) are about to go now; they are in their final stages... For the Congress, everyone is united... The system that existed during our tenure should be implemented more firmly."