ANIL BAHUGUNA
Dehradun: Uttarakhand politics was jolted on Friday when the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided the residence of former Chief Minister Harish Rawat’s Personal Assistant and former OSD Chandan Singh Jeena, seizing unaccounted cash, gold and luxury watches. Hours later, Harish Rawat offered to resign from all organizational posts of the Congress, triggering a fresh crisis within the party.
The ED’s Dehradun Sub-Zonal Office conducted searches on September 10 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, in connection with alleged large-scale irregularities in the Uttarakhand Subordinate Service Selection Commission (UKSSSC) Gram Panchayat Vikas Adhikari (VPDO) Examination, 2016.
Jeena served as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to Rawat during his tenure as Chief Minister from 2014 to 2017 and is currently his Personal Assistant.
According to the official ED statement released on Friday Rs 32 lakh in unaccounted cash was recovered from Jeena’s residence including 200.5 grams of gold* – comprising 13 gold coins and 7 gold chains, 12 luxury wristwatches i.e. Rolex, Rado, Piaget, Movado, Tissot and Casio Edifice. The value is being separately ascertained. In addition to this Rs 52.16 lakh were also found in bank deposits frozen in accounts linked to Jeena and family and the total seizure is valued approximately Rs 1.28 crore which ch may likely to likely to increasevreveal sources.
ED said simultaneous searches were also carried out at the residences of the then Chairman, then Secretary and then Exam Controller of UKSSSC, the owner of the private computer agency engaged for OMR processing, and alleged middlemen.
The PMLA case stems from four FIRs registered by Uttarakhand Police and Vigilance Bureau. The agency has alleged that OMR answer sheets were diverted from UKSSSC’s secure custody to the residence of its then secretary, where roll numbers of under-filled sheets were noted and handed over to the private agency personnel to fraudulently fill answer bubbles in exchange for illegal gratification routed through middlemen.
Harish Rawat’s Emotional Gambit: Resignation Offer
Soon after the raid, Harish Rawat played an emotional card. In a social media post on Saturday morning, he announced that he wants to resign from both his posts – Member of the Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee Executive and Permanent Invitee Member of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) at the national level.
“I humbly wish to step down from both posts, so that the party’s struggle does not face any weakness because of me,” Rawat wrote.
Defending his aide, Rawat described Jeena as a “very gentle, humble and hardworking person” and said he would be “ashamed” if charges of OMR tampering are proved, but he does not believe in these allegations.
Calling it a political conspiracy, Rawat said: “Instead of knocking at my door, an attempt has been made to create a narrative by knocking at the door of my associate.”
His old remark is also becoming relevant now, where he had said: “Whenever someone asked me when elections would be held, I used to jokingly say – when CBI knocks at my door.”
Political Fallout: 3 Big Questions for Congress Before 2027
1. Fresh Ammunition for BJP: The BJP has already been attacking the Congress over the UKSSSC paper leak. With the case now directly linked to Harish Rawat’s close aide, the BJP has got a ready-made narrative of “corruption in Congress” just as the party starts its booth-level preparations for the 2027 Assembly elections. The saffron party held its extended state working committee in Haldwani this week to plan for a third consecutive term.
2. Deepening Factionalism in Congress: Uttarakhand Congress is already grappling with internal factionalism, particularly the long-running tussle between the Harish Rawat and Harak Singh Rawat camps. Rawat’s resignation offer will further complicate the party’s fragile internal balance at a time when organizational unity is needed most.
3. Is It A Calculated Distancing?:This is the biggest question in political circles. Is Harish Rawat’s resignation offer truly on moral grounds to save the party from embarrassment, or is it a calculated move to distance himself from the Congress using the ED raid as a pretext?
While Rawat has said he will continue to work for the party, his decision has become a major headache for the Congress high command, which has to fight both the BJP outside and its internal battles inside before 2027.
