Harish Rawat resigns from Congress posts after ED recovers cash, gold from his PA

New Delhi: Former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat has resigned from two prominent roles within the Congress party following the seizure of unaccounted cash, gold and luxury watches from his former OSD's residence. Rawat stepped down from the Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) executive and as a permanent invitee to the Congress Working Committee (CWC) at the national level.

The resignations followed the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) searches in connection with alleged irregularities in a 2016 recruitment examination.

Rawat claimed he made the decision due to a desire to avoid any controversy weakening the party's fight against corruption. He also stated his decision was aimed at preventing the allegations from interfering with the upcoming Uttarakhand Assembly elections. Rawat defended the former aide, calling him a gentle, humble and hardworking individual who had fulfilled important responsibilities during his time in government and the party. However, he expressed no faith in the allegations against Jeena at this stage.

The ED conducted searches on or around September 10 at multiple locations in Dehradun under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). They recovered approximately ₹32 lakh in unaccounted cash, 200.5 grams of gold, including 13 gold coins and seven gold chains, and 12 luxury watches from Jeena's residence. Bank accounts belonging to Jeena and his family were also frozen, holding around ₹52 lakh. The total value of seized assets is reported to be around ₹1.28 crore.

The ED's probe is part of its investigation into alleged large-scale irregularities in the 2016 recruitment examination. The searches reportedly extended to former UKSSSC officials, a private computer agency involved in OMR processing and alleged middlemen connected to the case. The Congress party opposes scrapping Majas Jogeshwari Rehabilitation Reservation, citing the BMC's ₹20,751 crore PAP Housing need. Rawat defended Jeena and stated that the complete facts will emerge as the investigation progresses.