Harish Rawat Tenders Resignation amid Corruption Allegations Against Aide

Synopsis

Former Chief Minister of Uttarakhand and senior Congress leader, Harish Rawat has offered his resignation from the post of executive member of Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress committee and permanent invitee to the Congress Working Committee. Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided Chandan Singh Jeena, who served as an officer on special duty (OSD) during Harish Rawat’s tenure as Chief Minister, while stating that these allegations should not impact Congress’ fight against corruption.

Cash, Gold recovered

The ED has seized Rs 32 lakh in suspected unaccounted cash, about 200.5 grams of gold and 12 luxury watches during searches linked to alleged irregularities in Uttarakhand’s 2016 Village Panchayat Development Officer recruitment examination. The searches were conducted on September 10, 2026, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) while the cash and valuables were recovered from the residence of Chandan Singh Jeena.

The accounts have been frozen under section 17(1A) of the PMLA, while Jeena’s mobile phone and several other devices have also been seized. The ED estimated the valuation of assets, excluding luxury watches, to be around Rs. 1.28 crore.

These allegations are linked to the manipulation of the OMR sheets used in 2016 VPDO examination suspecting that the sheets, kept in secure custody were taken to the secretary’s private residence and blank sheets were sent to a private computer agency where they were allegedly manipulated. The agency is investigating illegal payments made in return for manipulation of examination sheets.

Harish Rawat’s Resignation

A day after the searches, Harish Rawat stated that the allegations by the ED were an attempt to frame a narrative against him as elections come closer. He recalled when he often used to joke about how elections in Uttarakhand will begin when the CBI came “knocking at my door.” However, Harish Rawat said that this time, an attempt had been made to craft a narrative against one of his associates.

Harish Rawat described Chandan Singh Jeena as a “noble, humble and hardworking individual” and said that any evidence of tampering with OMR sheets, in the recruitment process of gram sevaks would be shameful. Following this, Harish Rawat resigned from his post, stating that nothing should affect congress’ fight against corruption.

“…I have taken a major decision…I am a member of the executive of the Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee and a permanent invitee of the Congress Working Committee at the national level, and with utmost humility, I wish to step down from both these positions, because no weakness should come into the party’s struggle on my account.”

While defending his record, he stated that during his tenure the government had strengthened the recruitment process by creating recruitment boards, claiming more than. 42.000 government recruitments were made during his three -year tenure.

While seeking forgiveness from the people of Uttarakhand, he said, “If there has been any lapse on my part, I consider myself deserving of punishment, and the law should punish me.”

Political row

Uttarakhand Congress president, Ganesh Godiyal, reacted to the ED raids, stating these examinations date back to 2016 and the Harish Rawat government had cancelled the examination and called for an investigation about the irregularities. He questioned the Centre for taking 11 years to act and stated that this was an attempt to give the issue a political colour.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Mahendra Bhatt urged the Congress leaders to cooperate, stating that this case had been under investigation for a very long time.

“We expect the truth to emerge and the facts to be clear. Congress members should not politicize the issue but present the facts before the ED so justice can be served.” Mahendra Bhatt said.