Harish Rawat Steps Down from Congress Posts After ED Action on Aide
Harish Rawat resigned from two Congress organisational positions after the ED searched his former OSD's home and seized assets worth about Rs 1.28 crore in the 2016 UKSSSC exam case.
Former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat announced on Saturday that he is stepping down from two organisational roles in the Congress, a day after the Enforcement Directorate disclosed searches at the residence of his former aide in connection with alleged irregularities in a 2016 recruitment examination.
In a post on X, Rawat said he would relinquish his position on the executive of the Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee and his role as a permanent invitee member of the Congress Working Committee. He explained that he did not want any action linked to him to dilute the party's campaign against corruption.
"At such a time, if any action of Harish Rawat introduces any weakness in the party's struggle, I would absolutely not want that," he said, adding that since he holds no government post, the decision concerned only his party responsibilities.
The Enforcement Directorate said in a statement on Friday that it had carried out searches at several locations in Dehradun on September 10 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The case relates to alleged irregularities in the Uttarakhand Subordinate Service Selection Commission's Gram Panchayat Vikas Adhikari examination held in 2016.
Among the premises searched was the residence of Chandan Singh Jeena, whom the agency identified as currently serving as Personal Assistant to Rawat and previously as his Officer on Special Duty during Rawat's tenure as Chief Minister from 2014 to 2017.
The agency alleged that OMR answer sheets were diverted from the commission's secure custody and that under-filled sheets were handed to a private computer agency for fraudulent filling and alteration before being re-sealed, allegedly in exchange for illegal gratification routed through middlemen.
At Jeena's residence, the ED said it recovered unaccounted Indian currency of Rs 32 lakh, gold coins and chains weighing about 200.5 grams, and 12 luxury wristwatches. The total value of assets seized and frozen there was put at approximately Rs 1.28 crore. The agency said the matter remains under investigation.
Rawat acknowledged Jeena's long association with him but rejected the allegations. He described Jeena as "an utterly noble, humble, and hardworking individual" and said that while he would feel ashamed if any tampering with OMR sheets were proven, he had no faith in the accusation.
He also framed the action in political terms, saying that instead of approaching his own house, an attempt had been made to target an associate's home and "craft a narrative." He linked the development to the political contest ahead of the Uttarakhand Assembly elections due in 2027, and referred to Rahul Gandhi's campaign against alleged irregularities in the education system.
Defending his record, Rawat said the UKSSSC was created during his tenure with the state's youth in mind, and claimed that more than 42,000 government recruitments were made over his three years in office. If any error of judgment occurred in appointments during that process, he said, he sought forgiveness from the people of Uttarakhand.