By Arun Pratap Singh
Garhwal Post Bureau
DEHRADUN, 12 Sep: Veteran Congress leader and former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat on Saturday offered to resign from his organisational posts in the Congress, saying he does not want anything associated with him to weaken the party’s fight against corruption.
Rawat made the announcement in a social media post following the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids on premises linked to Chandan Singh Jeena, who had served as his Officer on Special Duty (OSD) while he was the CM and is currently associated with him as his personal assistant. The ED action is part of an alleged money-laundering investigation into alleged irregularities in the 2016 Village Development Officer (VPDO) recruitment examination conducted by the Uttarakhand Subordinate Service Selection Commission (UKSSSC).
Rawat, however, clarified that his decision should not be construed as his leaving the Congress party. He said he is only offering to relinquish his positions as a member of the Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee executive and as a permanent invitee to the Congress Working Committee at the national level. He claimed that Congress party membership is in his blood and bones. It has made whatever Harish Rawat is today. He asserted that his association with Congress will go with him even to heaven.
Rawat said if the ED action against his former aide has any adverse impact on the Congress narrative of fighting corruption, he would prefer to step aside from his organisational posts in the party. He said he does not want any action associated with him to weaken the party’s struggle, particularly when Congress was preparing to fight the BJP in a united manner.
He acknowledged that Jeena had served as his OSD and had handled important responsibilities in the party and government. Describing him as a humble and hardworking person, Rawat said he does not believe Jeena had been involved in wrongdoing. Referring to reports of seizures during the ED searches, he said television reports had mentioned recovery of cash and jewellery from his personal assistant.
On the alleged irregularities in the 2016 recruitment examination, Rawat said appointments and examination-related wrongdoing amounted to playing with the future of the younger generation. He said the UKSSSC had been established with the objective of protecting the interests of Uttarakhand’s youth and ensuring timely recruitment.
Rawat recalled that during his tenure, recruitment was undertaken for several important posts and recruitment boards were also constituted for different sectors, including medical and education. He also claimed that more than 42,000 government posts had been filled during the Congress government’s three-year tenure.
He said that if any mistake had been committed by him, knowingly or unknowingly, in the process of appointments and recruitment, he is prepared to accept responsibility and apologise to the people of Uttarakhand. Rawat also made a public appeal to anyone possessing evidence of his involvement or interference in appointments to submit it to the CBI, ED or Uttarakhand police. He said if any act on his part has adversely affected the future of the state’s youth, then he would consider himself deserving of punishment.
Defending the appointment of the then UKSSSC chairman, Rawat said it had been made on the basis of the person’s previous service record. He recalled that former Chief Minister Maj Gen BC Khanduri (retd) had advised him regarding the appointment. Rawat said Khanduri had always stood firmly against corruption, but it is not possible to predict whether a person appointed to a position would subsequently commit wrongdoing.
Rawat also sought to link the ED action to the political atmosphere ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections. Taking a dig at the BJP-led government at the Centre, he recalled his earlier quip that when people asked him when elections in Uttarakhand were due, he would say that they should know the elections had arrived when the CBI came to his doorstep. He said that this time a knock had been made at the house of his associate and an attempt was being made to create a political narrative around it. He also referred to Rahul Gandhi’s “Students’ Goonj” programme, saying Congress and its workers were united in raising their voice against corruption, including in the education system.
The ED raids on premises linked to Chandan Singh Jeena were conducted as part of the money-laundering probe into alleged irregularities in the 2016 UKSSSC VPDO examination. Cash, gold coins, gold chains and expensive watches were reportedly recovered during the searches.
