Harish Rawat says he would ‘like to step down from Congress posts’ amid corruption allegations against aide

Former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat announced on Saturday (September 12, 2026) his intention to resign from two party positions, amid allegations against his aide Chandan Singh Jeena. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had raided Jeena, who served as an officer on special duty during Rawat's tenure as Chief Minister. Rawat stated that he was resigning as an executive member of the Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee and as a permanent invitee member of the Congress Working Committee, citing a need to prevent any weakness from affecting the party's fight against corruption.

He described Jeena as a "noble, humble and hardworking individual," but expressed regret if Jeena was involved in allegations of tampering with OMR sheets in the recruitment of gram sevaks. Rawat defended his government's record, claiming over 42,000 government recruitments were made during his tenure. He urged anyone with evidence of his involvement in recruitment irregularities to approach the CBI, ED or State police.

Uttarakhand Congress President Ganesh Godiyal questioned why the government took 11 years to act on the "so-called examination," alleging the ED raids were a political move to give the issue a "political colour." BJP State president Mahendra Bhatt called for Congress leaders to cooperate with the ED and not politicize the issue, emphasizing the importance of presenting facts before the ED for justice.