मेरा अनुभव कुछ मीठा, कुछ रोमांचकारी और कुछ निराशाजनक भी रहा। चिंता अपनी नहीं, देश और समाज की है। यदि सरकारें बदले की भावना से काम करेंगी, तो देश कैसे चलेगा?

ED नहीं, सत्ता का अहंकार और चुनावी चिंताएं मुझे यहां बुला रही हैं। हम इन चिंताओं का समाधान करेंगे।

थैंक्स ED, थैंक्स… pic.twitter.com/h5IzuGBJOe

— Harish Rawat (@harishrawatcmuk) September 27, 2026

“If governments operate with a spirit of revenge, how will the nation function?” he said, adding that it was “not ED, but the arrogance of power and electoral anxieties” that had brought him before the agency.

Story continues below.
Subscribe to see fewer ads.

“Thanks ED, thanks BJP — you’ve brought me to Dehradun; now let’s see what comes next,” he said.

The ED action follows searches it carried out at multiple locations in Dehradun on September 10 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with alleged large-scale irregularities in the 2016 UKSSSC Gram Panchayat Vikas Adhikari examination.

One of the premises searched belonged to Chandan Singh Jeena, who is currently Rawat’s personal assistant and had served as his Officer on Special Duty when the latter was chief minister between 2014 and 2017.

The ED said it seized or froze assets worth about Rs 1.28 crore, including Rs 32 lakh in unaccounted cash, gold coins and chains weighing about 200 grams, and 12 luxury wristwatches, from Jeena’s residence.

Story continues below this ad

The allegations

According to the agency, its investigation has found that OMR answer sheets were allegedly diverted from the UKSSSC’s secure custody. It has alleged that partially filled answer sheets were handed to a private computer agency, where they were fraudulently filled or altered before being re-sealed, with illegal gratification allegedly routed through middlemen. The investigation remains ongoing.

Rawat has acknowledged Jeena’s association with him but rejected the allegations against his former OSD.

In an earlier statement following the searches, Rawat described Jeena as a “noble, humble, and hardworking individual” and said that if there was evidence that he had tampered with OMR sheets, he would be ashamed of such conduct. But, he added, he had “absolutely no faith” in the allegation against Jeena.

The ED action had also prompted Rawat to step down from two organisational positions in the Congress.

Story continues below this ad

On September 13, he announced his decision to resign from the executive of the Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee and as a permanent invitee member of the Congress Working Committee. Rawat said he did not want anything associated with him to weaken the Congress’s political campaign against corruption.

At the time, Rawat also placed the ED action in the context of the political contest ahead of the 2027 election, saying that instead of knocking on his door, an attempt had been made to “knock at the house of one of my associates and craft a narrative.”

He also defended the creation of the UKSSSC during his tenure as CM, saying the commission had been established with the state’s youth in mind. Rawat claimed that more than 42,000 government recruitments were made during his three years in office, while adding that if there had been an “error of judgement” in the appointment process, he would seek the forgiveness of the people of Uttarakhand.

On his appearance before the ED on Saturday, Rawat said the agency sought documents relating to his family’s assets.

Story continues below this ad

Details of ancestral property sought

Rawat said he had carried along his wife’s bank and post-office passbooks, along with details of some of his own assets. But, he said, the officials also sought details of the assets, including ancestral property, of other members of his family.

Rawat said this presented a practical difficulty because the ancestral land in his village remained undivided. He told reporters that compiling the relevant land records would take time.

According to Rawat, ED officials told him that the remaining documents could be submitted within 20 or 25 days. He said the agency also sought documents relating to assets already declared in his income-tax returns.

Rawat said he had told the officials that his assets were exactly as declared in his filings.

Story continues below this ad

To be sure, the ED has not publicly alleged that Rawat himself was involved in the alleged manipulation of the recruitment examination. Its September 11 statement concerned the searches and the material recovered from premises linked to Jeena, while the broader investigation into the alleged examination irregularities is continuing.