Harish Rawat Steps Down from Congress Posts After Cash Seizure from Aide, Then Makes It Clear He Isn’t Leaving the Party
The former Uttarakhand chief minister and senior Congress leader put out a post saying he’s quitting two of his party positions. It came right after the Enforcement Directorate recovered a pile of cash, gold and fancy watches from the house of his longtime aide, Chandan Singh Jeena. Rawat made it plain he doesn’t want anything linked to him to weaken the party’s fight against corruption, especially with elections in the air. But then he quickly clarified that he’s not walking out of the Congress itself. The party, he said, is in his blood and bones.
The ED raids took place in Dehradun. Officers went through Jeena’s place as part of a money-laundering probe connected to alleged irregularities in the 2016 Uttarakhand Subordinate Service Selection Commission exam for Gram Panchayat Vikas Adhikari posts. According to the agency, they found about Rs 32 lakh in unaccounted cash, around 200 grams of gold in coins and chains, and a dozen luxury watches — brands like Rolex and others. Jeena used to be Rawat’s officer on special duty when Rawat was chief minister between 2014 and 2017. He’s still working as his personal assistant.
Rawat didn’t hide the connection. In his post he called Jeena a decent, hardworking, humble person. He said if it turns out Jeena really messed with OMR sheets or took money to fix results, he’d feel ashamed. But he added, quite firmly, that he has absolutely no faith in those allegations. The truth will come out in time, he wrote. He also pointed out that people keep trying to build a narrative against him whenever elections get closer. He even joked that he used to tell people elections would be announced the day the CBI knocked on his door. This time the knock came at his associate’s house instead.
Then came the decision. Rawat said he holds no government post, so there’s nothing to resign from there. But he is a member of the Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee executive and a permanent invitee to the Congress Working Committee at the national level. He said he was stepping down from both those roles, with humility, because he doesn’t want the party’s struggle to take any hit because of him. He mentioned remembering his isht devta before taking the call.
Almost immediately the media started running headlines that Rawat had quit the Congress. That got him to put out another post. He made it very clear those reports were wrong. “Congress Party membership is in my blood and bones,” he wrote. “It shapes everything that Harish Rawat is. It will go to heaven with me.” So the resignation is only from the organisational posts, not from the party. He’s still a Congressman, full stop.
This whole thing lands at a sensitive moment. Uttarakhand politics is heating up, and Congress has been trying to keep its anti-corruption message strong. Rahul Gandhi’s been talking about education system issues through the Chhatron Ki Goonj campaign. Rawat’s move looks like an attempt to keep the party’s hands clean in the public eye. Whether it actually helps or just gives the other side fresh talking points is another matter. Opposition voices are already using it to question Congress’s claims on corruption.
People who know Rawat say this is typical of him — reacting strongly when something hits close, then making sure the larger loyalty isn’t questioned. He’s been through plenty of ups and downs in Uttarakhand politics. Losing power, winning it back, dealing with internal party issues. This latest episode is another chapter. The cash and gold recovery is serious, and the ED case will take its own course. Rawat’s decision to step back from the posts is his way of saying the party shouldn’t carry any extra baggage because of association with him.
In the posts he also defended the recruitment system set up during his time as chief minister. He said more than 42,000 government posts were filled in three years and that the UKSSSC was meant to give young people a fair shot. Whether that history helps him now is hard to say. The current probe is focused on the 2016 exam and the alleged diversion of answer sheets for fixing.
For ordinary workers and supporters in the hills, the news is mixed. Some feel Rawat did the right thing by stepping aside so the party doesn’t look compromised. Others worry it weakens the local leadership just when the organisation needs experienced faces. No one from the Congress high command has come out with a big statement yet. They’re probably waiting to see how the dust settles.
Rawat has been careful with his words. He didn’t attack the ED or call the whole thing a conspiracy in so many words, though the “narrative” line is clear enough. He simply said he won’t let his name become a reason for the party to look weak. That kind of language is classic political self-preservation mixed with genuine party loyalty. Time will tell if the posts stay vacant or if the party asks him to reconsider later.
The recovery of the cash, gold and watches is now a matter of record. The ED has frozen some bank accounts linked to Jeena and his family as well. The investigation into the old exam irregularities continues. For Harish Rawat, the immediate political fallout is the loss of those two positions and the need to keep explaining that he remains inside the Congress fold.
That’s the story as it stands this Saturday. A senior leader steps back from organisational roles after a raid on his aide, insists the party is still his life, and leaves the rest to the investigators and the voters.
Sources:
India Today, Deccan Herald, The Hindu, Indian Express, NDTV, Scroll.in, News18, Moneycontrol, The Tribune, Times Now — reports published on 12 September 2026 covering Rawat’s posts, the ED seizures, and his clarification.
Harish Rawat Steps Down from Congress Posts After Cash Seizure from Aide, Then Makes It Clear He Isn’t Leaving the Party
The former Uttarakhand chief minister and senior Congress leader put out a post saying he’s quitting two of his party positions. It came right after the Enforcement Directorate recovered a pile of cash, gold and fancy watches from the house of his longtime aide, Chandan Singh Jeena. Rawat made it plain he doesn’t want anything linked to him to weaken the party’s fight against corruption, especially with elections in the air. But then he quickly clarified that he’s not walking out of the Congress itself. The party, he said, is in his blood and bones.
The ED raids took place in Dehradun. Officers went through Jeena’s place as part of a money-laundering probe connected to alleged irregularities in the 2016 Uttarakhand Subordinate Service Selection Commission exam for Gram Panchayat Vikas Adhikari posts. According to the agency, they found about Rs 32 lakh in unaccounted cash, around 200 grams of gold in coins and chains, and a dozen luxury watches — brands like Rolex and others. Jeena used to be Rawat’s officer on special duty when Rawat was chief minister between 2014 and 2017. He’s still working as his personal assistant.
Rawat didn’t hide the connection. In his post he called Jeena a decent, hardworking, humble person. He said if it turns out Jeena really messed with OMR sheets or took money to fix results, he’d feel ashamed. But he added, quite firmly, that he has absolutely no faith in those allegations. The truth will come out in time, he wrote. He also pointed out that people keep trying to build a narrative against him whenever elections get closer. He even joked that he used to tell people elections would be announced the day the CBI knocked on his door. This time the knock came at his associate’s house instead.
Then came the decision. Rawat said he holds no government post, so there’s nothing to resign from there. But he is a member of the Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee executive and a permanent invitee to the Congress Working Committee at the national level. He said he was stepping down from both those roles, with humility, because he doesn’t want the party’s struggle to take any hit because of him. He mentioned remembering his isht devta before taking the call.
Almost immediately the media started running headlines that Rawat had quit the Congress. That got him to put out another post. He made it very clear those reports were wrong. “Congress Party membership is in my blood and bones,” he wrote. “It shapes everything that Harish Rawat is. It will go to heaven with me.” So the resignation is only from the organisational posts, not from the party. He’s still a Congressman, full stop.
This whole thing lands at a sensitive moment. Uttarakhand politics is heating up, and Congress has been trying to keep its anti-corruption message strong. Rahul Gandhi’s been talking about education system issues through the Chhatron Ki Goonj campaign. Rawat’s move looks like an attempt to keep the party’s hands clean in the public eye. Whether it actually helps or just gives the other side fresh talking points is another matter. Opposition voices are already using it to question Congress’s claims on corruption.
People who know Rawat say this is typical of him — reacting strongly when something hits close, then making sure the larger loyalty isn’t questioned. He’s been through plenty of ups and downs in Uttarakhand politics. Losing power, winning it back, dealing with internal party issues. This latest episode is another chapter. The cash and gold recovery is serious, and the ED case will take its own course. Rawat’s decision to step back from the posts is his way of saying the party shouldn’t carry any extra baggage because of association with him.
In the posts he also defended the recruitment system set up during his time as chief minister. He said more than 42,000 government posts were filled in three years and that the UKSSSC was meant to give young people a fair shot. Whether that history helps him now is hard to say. The current probe is focused on the 2016 exam and the alleged diversion of answer sheets for fixing.
For ordinary workers and supporters in the hills, the news is mixed. Some feel Rawat did the right thing by stepping aside so the party doesn’t look compromised. Others worry it weakens the local leadership just when the organisation needs experienced faces. No one from the Congress high command has come out with a big statement yet. They’re probably waiting to see how the dust settles.
Rawat has been careful with his words. He didn’t attack the ED or call the whole thing a conspiracy in so many words, though the “narrative” line is clear enough. He simply said he won’t let his name become a reason for the party to look weak. That kind of language is classic political self-preservation mixed with genuine party loyalty. Time will tell if the posts stay vacant or if the party asks him to reconsider later.
The recovery of the cash, gold and watches is now a matter of record. The ED has frozen some bank accounts linked to Jeena and his family as well. The investigation into the old exam irregularities continues. For Harish Rawat, the immediate political fallout is the loss of those two positions and the need to keep explaining that he remains inside the Congress fold.
That’s the story as it stands this Saturday. A senior leader steps back from organisational roles after a raid on his aide, insists the party is still his life, and leaves the rest to the investigators and the voters.
Sources:
India Today, Deccan Herald, The Hindu, Indian Express, NDTV, Scroll.in, News18, Moneycontrol, The Tribune, Times Now — reports published on 12 September 2026 covering Rawat’s posts, the ED seizures, and his clarification.
@Rohit Manral
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