‘Congress membership in my blood and bones’: Harish Rawat denies reports of quitting party

New Delhi: Congress leader and former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat on Saturday denied reports that he had resigned from the party, saying that his association with it was deeply rooted in his identity and would remain with him forever.

In a post on X in Hindi, Rawat said some sections of the media had reported that he had resigned from the Congress.

“Some sections of the media are reporting the news that Harish Rawat has resigned from the Congress Party. Brother, Congress Party membership is in my blood and bones; it shapes everything that Harish Rawat is. It will go to heaven with me,” he said.

However, Rawat clarified that he had offered to resign from two party positions.

“Yes, if the ED’s hypocritical circus that happened in Dehradun yesterday or the day before has any impact on the narrative of fighting against corruption in the Congress Party, then the positions I hold in the party — member of the state executive and member of the AICC working committee — I would want to resign from those positions. Therefore, I urge my friends in the media to read my post/tweet in its entirety and correct their news,” he said.

On Friday, Rawat had announced his decision to step down from two Congress positions following ED searches at the premises of his personal assistant, Chandan Singh Jeena, as part of a money laundering investigation linked to alleged irregularities in a 2016 recruitment examination conducted by the Uttarakhand Subordinate Service Selection Commission (UKSSSC).

Rawat said he did not want any controversy involving a close associate to weaken the Congress’s fight against corruption. He therefore decided to step down as a member of the Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee executive and as a permanent invitee to the Congress Working Committee.

The ED conducted searches at multiple locations in Dehradun on Thursday, including premises linked to former UKSSSC officials, the owner of a private computer agency involved in processing OMR sheets, and alleged middlemen.

According to the agency, the searches at Jeena’s residence resulted in the seizure of unaccounted cash, gold, and luxury watches.

The money laundering case stems from four FIRs registered by the Uttarakhand Police and Vigilance Bureau over alleged irregularities in the Gram Panchayat Vikas Adhikari examination conducted by the UKSSSC in 2016.

The ED said searches at Jeena’s residence led to the seizure of Rs 32 lakh in unaccounted cash, gold coins and chains weighing about 200.5 grams (13 gold coins and 7 gold chains) and 12 luxury watches, including brands such as Rolex, Rado, Piaget, Movado, Tissot, and Casio Edifice.

IANS