Harish Rawat Steps Down From Congress Posts After ED Seizure From His Aide

Former Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat has resigned from his positions in the Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee and as a permanent invitee member of the Congress Working Committee, a day after the Enforcement Directorate disclosed recoveries from the premises of his personal assistant.

The agency said on Friday that searches tied to the 2016 VPDO examination case had yielded ₹32 lakh in cash, 13 gold coins, seven gold chains weighing roughly 200.5 grams and 12 luxury wristwatches from the premises of Chandan Singh Jeena.

Announcing his decision on X, Mr. Rawat said he held no government office and therefore had nothing to resign from on that count. He said he was stepping down from the two party roles with humility so that no weakness would be attributed to the party's struggle on his account.

Mr. Rawat said Mr. Jeena had worked as his Officer on Special Duty and had handled significant responsibilities across the positions he held in the party and in government. He described his aide as a decent, humble and hard-working person, and said that while he would feel ashamed if there were evidence that OMR sheets were tampered with during the recruitment of Gram Sevaks, he did not believe the allegation.

Turning to the political calendar, the former chief minister said the stakes in the coming Uttarakhand elections were very high. He recalled telling people jokingly that polls would be held when the CBI knocked on his door, and said that since that had not happened, he expected the election in March or April next year.

He alleged that this time, rather than approaching him directly, an attempt had been made to knock on the door of one of his associates and build a narrative. Mr. Rawat also said the Congress and its workers were united against corruption, pointing to Rahul Gandhi's "Students Ki Goonj" programme as a national-level effort to highlight concerns in the education system.