Harish Rawat quits Congress posts after ED seizes cash, watches from aide

Senior Congress leader and former Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat on Saturday announced his resignation from two organisational posts following an Enforcement Directorate raid at the residence of his personal assistant, Chandan Singh Jeena.

Rawat said he was stepping down from the Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee executive and from his position as a permanent invitee to the Congress Working Committee so that the ED action would not weaken the party’s campaign against corruption or its political preparations ahead of the 2027 Uttarakhand Assembly elections. He clarified that he was not leaving the Congress party.

The ED had conducted searches at multiple locations in Dehradun on Thursday as part of a money-laundering investigation into alleged irregularities in the 2016 Gram Panchayat Vikas Adhikari examination conducted by the Uttarakhand Subordinate Service Selection Commission (UKSSSC). The agency said Rs 32 lakh in unaccounted cash and a dozen luxury watches were seized from Jeena’s premises.

Jeena is currently Rawat’s personal assistant and had served as his Officer on Special Duty when Rawat was chief minister between 2014 and 2017. The ED’s searches also covered premises linked to the then UKSSSC chairman, secretary and examination controller, the owner of a private agency involved in processing OMR sheets and alleged middlemen.

Rawat defended Jeena, saying he did not believe the allegations against his aide. He said that if evidence showed that Jeena had tampered with OMR sheets, he would be ashamed of such an act, but maintained that he currently had no reason to believe the allegations were true.

The former chief minister also said he was prepared to face investigation if evidence established any wrongdoing on his part. Referring to his previous political activism, Rawat said he had gone to jail in the past and had no fear of facing imprisonment again if wrongdoing was proved.

Rawat said more than 42,000 government appointments were made during his roughly three-year tenure as chief minister. He said recruitment bodies were established for different sectors and that his government had taken action after complaints concerning the appointment of the UKSSSC chairman. He also said the 2016 examination was eventually cancelled after an inquiry.

The ED case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act stems from four FIRs registered by Uttarakhand Police and the Vigilance Bureau over alleged irregularities in the 2016 UKSSSC Village Panchayat Development Officer examination.

In a statement after the searches, the ED said its investigation covered alleged manipulation in the recruitment process and financial transactions connected with the examination. The agency’s probe is continuing.

Rawat has also alleged that the timing of the ED action could create a particular political narrative ahead of the Uttarakhand elections. He said he did not want the controversy surrounding his aide to undermine Congress’ campaign on corruption and student-related issues.

A recent report also said the ED action involved cash, gold and luxury watches, with the total value of assets seized or frozen in connection with the searches reported at around Rs 1.28 crore.

with inputs from PTI