Former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat on Saturday announced his decision to step down from the executive of the Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee and as a permanent invitee member of the Congress Working Committee. This came a day after the Enforcement Directorate said it had searched the residence of his former OSD and seized assets worth about Rs 1.28 crore in connection with alleged irregularities in the 2016 Gram Panchayat Vikas Adhikari recruitment examination.The ED, in a statement issued Friday, said it conducted searches at multiple locations in Dehradun on September 10 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in connection with alleged irregularities in the Uttarakhand Subordinate Service Selection Commission (UKSSSC) Gram Panchayat Vikas Adhikari examination, 2016.Among those searched was the residence of Chandan Singh Jeena, whom the agency described as “presently serving as Personal Assistant to former Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Shri Harish Singh Rawat and who earlier served as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to Shri Rawat during his tenure as Chief Minister from 2014 to 2017″.The agency said its investigation had found that OMR answer sheets were allegedly diverted from UKSSSC’s secure custody and that under-filled OMR sheets were handed over to a private computer agency for fraudulent filling and alteration before re-sealing, allegedly in exchange for illegal gratification routed through middlemen.At Jeena’s residence, the ED said it recovered unaccounted Indian currency of Rs 32 lakh, gold coins and chains weighing approximately 200.5 grams, and 12 luxury wristwatches. It said the total value of assets seized and frozen at his residence stood at approximately Rs 1.28 crore.In his post on X early Saturday, Rawat acknowledged Jeena’s association with him but rejected the allegations against him.“It is true that Mr. Gina has been my OSD, and in whatever positions I have served, whether in the party or in government—he has shouldered important responsibilities. Mr. Gina is an utterly noble, humble, and hardworking individual,” Rawat said.Story continues below this adHe added: “If there has been any tampering with the OMR sheets in the recruitment of gram sevaks, and if there is any evidence of such a mistake on his part, then I am ashamed of this so-called audacious act of his. However, I have absolutely no faith in this allegation.”Rawat said he was stepping down from his two organisational positions because he did not want the ED action to weaken the Congress’s political fight against corruption.“At such a time, if any action of Harish Rawat introduces any weakness in the party’s struggle, I would absolutely not want that,” he said. “Therefore, having just remembered my beloved deity, I have taken a major decision: I am not on any government position, so what resignation would I tender from that!”He further said: “Yes, I am a member of the executive of the Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee and a permanent invitee member of the Congress Working Committee at the national level, and with utmost humility, I wish to step down from both these positions, because no weakness should come into the party’s struggle on my account.”Story continues below this adRawat also framed the ED action in the context of the political battle ahead of the Uttarakhand Assembly elections, due in 2027.“But this time, instead of knocking at my house, an attempt has been made to knock at the house of one of my associates and craft a narrative,” he said.He said the Congress was “fighting united against corruption” and referred to Rahul Gandhi’s campaign against alleged irregularities in the education system.On the creation of the UKSSSC during his tenure, Rawat said the commission had been established with the state’s youth in mind and claimed that more than 42,000 government recruitments were made during his three-year tenure.Story continues below this ad“If there has been any error of judgment on our part in the appointments during that process, then I seek forgiveness from the people of Uttarakhand for it,” he said. The ED Friday stated that the matter is still under investigation.