Dehradun/New Delhi: Senior Congress leader Harish Rawat Saturday said he has decided to resign from all party posts after the ED seized cash and jewellery from his personal assistant’s house, asserting that he is ready to go to jail if he is found involved in any wrongdoing.
Speaking to reporters in Delhi, the former Uttarakhand chief minister said he is resigning from the Pradesh Congress Committee executive and as a permanent invitee to the Congress Working Committee to ensure that the narrative regarding student-related issues raised by Rahul Gandhi and the party’s campaign ahead of the upcoming assembly elections are not weakened.
Sources close to Rawat told PTI that he would soon meet Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge to submit his resignation from both posts.
The former CM remarked that a lot is at stake in the Uttarakhand assembly elections due early next year and claimed that the ED action was an attempt to create a specific narrative.
Rawat also said he is resigning from the two organisational posts, not from the Congress party. There is a big difference between resigning from an organisational post and resigning from the party, he said.
The development comes after a dozen luxury wristwatches and Rs 32 lakh in cash were seized from the premises of Chandan Singh Jeena during the Enforcement Directorate raids undertaken Thursday. Jeena is currently Rawat’s personal assistant and had earlier served as an officer on special duty during the Congress leader’s tenure as chief minister during 2014-17.
The ED said that the raids were conducted as part of a money laundering investigation linked to alleged irregularities in a 2016 exam conducted by the state service selection commission.
Defending his personal assistant, Rawat said that Jeena could not possibly have a role in the matter.
According to Rawat, Jeena has been handling responsibilities with him for a long time and is an extremely decent, humble, and hardworking person.
He stated that if there is any evidence of tampering with OMR sheets during the recruitment process, he would be ashamed of such an act, but for now, he does not believe these allegations.
Rawat said that the Congress and its workers are fighting against corruption, and Rahul Gandhi is raising his voice against corruption in the education system at the national level through the ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ campaign.
Referring to the recruitment process during his tenure as CM, Rawat said the Subordinate Services Selection Commission was constituted with the future of the state’s youth in mind.
According to Rawat, over 42,000 government posts were filled during his tenure of approximately three years.
He noted that his government had established various recruitment boards- including those for medical and education recruitment- and had compelled the Public Service Commission to conduct examinations on time.
Rawat stated that if there was an error of judgment on his part regarding the recruitment process, he apologises to the people of Uttarakhand.
Referring to the appointment of the then chairman of the Subordinate Services Selection Commission, R B S Rawat, the former CM said the appointment was based on his past service record.
He added that he had also received advice regarding this appointment from former CM Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri.
Rawat said that after a complaint was received, an inquiry was conducted and the commission’s chairman had to resign.
According to him, a three-member committee was subsequently formed, and the examination was cancelled based on its report.
Rawat stated that if anyone possesses evidence of his interference or involvement in recruitment matters, it should be handed over to the CBI, ED, or state police.
He recalled that he had gone to jail during his student days and later while agitating in support of former prime minister Indira Gandhi.
Rawat asserted that he has no fear of going to jail again. Hang me wherever you wish, if anything wrong is found, he said.
When asked if he may succumb to alleged pressure and switch to the BJP, Rawat stated that he possesses the mettle to fight.
In a post on ‘X’ late Friday night, Rawat said he did not believe the allegations of irregularities in recruitment exams levelled against Jeena, but emphasised that he certainly did not want these allegations to weaken his party’s crusade against corruption.
The ED stated Friday that it had conducted raids on the premises of Harish Rawat’s personal assistant.
These raids were carried out as part of a money-laundering investigation concerning alleged irregularities in an examination conducted by the State Services Selection Commission in 2016, it said.
In a statement, the ED said that Rs 32 lakh in cash and a dozen expensive watches were seized during raids conducted Thursday at the premises of Jeena.
The ED’s case, registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), stems from four FIRs filed by the Uttarakhand Police and the Vigilance Bureau regarding alleged irregularities in the Village Panchayat Development Officer examination conducted by the commission in 2016.