The former chief minister of Uttarakhand Harish Rawat who has resigned from the two positions in his party has issued a detailed clarification on his social media post after ED raids on his former OSD and present PA Chandan Singh Jeena connected with paper leaks and subsequent unearthing of Rs 32 lakhs in cash twenty tolas of gold jewelry , bank account with Rs. 1.5 crores and several expensive watches etc.
Here is the detailed English translation of Mr. Harish Rawat’s social media clarification:
News is flashing on TV that a huge amount of cash and jewellery etc. has been seized or planted at the residence of Harish Rawat’s PA in Dehradun. The truth of this fact will be revealed in the coming time and it is true that Mr. Jeena has been my OSD and whatever posts I have held, whether in the party or in the government, he has been handling important responsibilities. Mr. Jeena is an extremely gentlemanly, humble and hardworking person. If he has tampered with the OMR sheets in the recruitment of Gram Sevaks and if he has committed any such mistake, and if there is proof of it, then I am ashamed of his so-called audacious act. But I do not believe this allegation at all.
There are high stakes in the Uttarakhand elections. Whenever anyone asked me when the elections are being held, I used to tell them jokingly that elections will be held when the CBI comes knocking at my door. If it has not come yet, it means elections will be held only in March-April next year.
But this time, an attempt has been made to create a narrative by knocking at the door of one of my associates, not at my house.
The Congress party and Congress workers are unitedly fighting against corruption. At the national level, Rahul Gandhi ji is raising his voice against corruption prevailing in the education system through the ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ program.
At such a time, if any act of Harish Rawat causes any weakness in the party’s struggle, I would not want that at all. Therefore, I have just remembered my presiding deity and taken a big decision that I am not holding any government post to resign from! Yes, I am a member of the Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee executive and a permanent invitee member of the Congress Working Committee at the national level and I would very humbly like to step down from both these posts, because no weakness should come in the party’s struggle because of me.
As for the question of the Subordinate Service Selection Commission? It was constituted by us keeping in mind the future of the youth of the state.
We forced the Public Service Commission to conduct examinations on time, so much so that recruitments to top posts were held twice during our short tenure. We created recruitment boards, created a medical recruitment board, created an education recruitment board. If during that process we have made any error of judgment in appointments, then I am apologetic to the people of Uttarakhand for it. But I want to humbly reiterate my claim that during our 3-year tenure, more than 42,000 government posts were filled.
The person whom we had appointed to the post of Chairman of the Subordinate Service Selection Commission, whom I myself removed after receiving complaints or asked for his resignation, however you may put it. His appointment was made on the basis of his past service record. He belonged to a community and I wanted that community to also have a share in power and the most effective advice regarding his appointment was given to me by the then former Chief Minister Major General Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri ji. He had come to meet me twice regarding his appointment. My perception even today is that Khanduri ji always worked for summoning corruption [fighting corruption]. I may also mention that no one can know where a person will make a mistake.
Would the RSS have known that the person whom they are making the president of their environment forum in Uttarakhand would commit such corrupt acts? And would be stigmatized as Chairman of the Subordinate Service Selection Commission!
Irregularities in appointments and examinations are playing with the future of our coming generation and if any such act has been committed by me knowingly or unknowingly, due to which the future of the youth of our state has been adversely affected, then I consider myself liable for torment and I seek forgiveness from the people of the state for this lapse and I also want to make a public appeal that if any person has any proof of my involvement in interfering in such appointments, then they must make those proofs available to the CBI, ED or state police.
Because every person who gets the opportunity to handle a big responsibility should always avoid such despicable temptations and if any such lapse has been committed by me, I am reiterating again that I consider myself liable for punishment and the law should punish me.
