‘Don’t Want To Weaken Congress’ : Harish Rawat Quits Party Roles

September 12, 2026

Haridwar : Former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat has resigned from his posts in the Congress, saying he does not want anything associated with him to weaken the party’s fight against corruption. Rawat referred to reports that a large amount of cash and jewellery had been seized from his former OSD and aide, Jina, in Dehradun.

Rawat said Jina had served as his OSD and had handled important responsibilities during his tenure in government as well as in the party. He added that if Jina was found to have tampered with OMR sheets in the recruitment of village development officers, and there was evidence to establish his involvement, he would be “ashamed” of such an act. However, Rawat said he did not believe the allegations against his former aide.

He said the Congress and its workers were fighting against corruption and referred to party leader Rahul Gandhi’s campaign against corruption in the education system. “At such a time, if any action of Harish Rawat weakens the party’s struggle, I would not want that,” he said. Rawat said he was not holding any government post but was a member of the Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee executive and a permanent invitee to the Congress Working Committee.

Rawat defended the steps taken by his government to strengthen recruitment mechanisms and said more than 42,000 government posts were filled during its three-year tenure. He said his government had created recruitment boards for areas including medical and education services and had pushed the Public Service Commission to conduct examinations on time.

He also spoke about the appointment of a former chairman of the Subordinate Service Selection Commission, saying the appointment had been based on the person’s service record. Rawat said he had removed the chairman or sought his resignation after receiving complaints. He said former Chief Minister Major General BC Khanduri had advised him on the appointment and had met him twice regarding it.