Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], September 12 (ANI): Leader of Opposition in the Uttarakhand Assembly Yashpal Arya and state Congress president Ganesh Godiyal have questioned the timing of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raid at the premises of Chandan Singh Jeena, who served as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to former Chief Minister Harish Rawat.
Reacting to the ED action, Arya pointed out that the matter dates back to 2016 and questioned why action was being taken only after a decade.
“You know, this matter dates back to 2016. Ten years have passed, and action is being taken only now; the issue is currently under investigation,” Arya said.
The Congress leader said the delay raised questions about the handling of the case by the government and administration. He argued that if action was required, it should have been initiated much earlier.
“But the question remains: the government and the administration stayed silent for ten years. Action should have been taken much earlier—it should have been immediate,” Arya said.
Godiyal also criticised the timing of the ED raid and alleged that central investigative agencies were being used for political purposes, particularly as elections approach.
“ED has become quite active as elections approach; the central government consistently uses agencies like the ED, the Income Tax Department, and the CBI to undermine the Congress party’s strong prospects, and it will continue to do so,” Godiyal said.
Referring specifically to the raid involving Jeena, Godiyal said the ED had returned to a matter concerning actions taken during Rawat’s tenure as chief minister after a gap of ten years.
“The recent ED raid on an associate of Harish Rawat is a case in point: the ED has suddenly—after ten years—revisited a matter concerning actions Harish Rawat took while discharging his duties as Chief Minister,” he said.
Godiyal said that during his tenure as chief minister, Rawat had cancelled an examination, ordered an inquiry and later expanded the scope of that investigation.
“At that time, he had cancelled an examination, ordered an inquiry, and subsequently expanded the scope of that investigation,” Godiyal said.
He argued that since Rawat had not been chief minister for a decade, the responsibility for taking the investigation forward lay with the government currently in office, whether at the state or central level.
“Since he has not been Chief Minister for a decade, it is the responsibility of the current state or central government to carry that investigation forward,” Godiyal said.
The Congress state president alleged that conducting the raids at this stage amounted to a political vendetta and was intended to influence the upcoming elections.
“Conducting raids on this matter now is undoubtedly an act of political vendetta, intended to influence the upcoming elections,” Godiyal said.
The remarks from the two senior Congress leaders came amid the political controversy surrounding the ED action against the former chief minister’s aide.
Meanwhile, the ED on Friday said it conducted searches at multiple locations in Dehradun in connection with alleged large-scale irregularities in the Uttarakhand Subordinate Service Selection Commission (UKSSSC) Gram Panchayat Vikas Adhikari (VPDO) Examination, 2016, and recovered Rs 32 lakh in unaccounted cash, gold and luxury watches from the residence of Chandan Singh Jeena, presently serving as Personal Assistant to former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Singh Rawat.
The searches were carried out on September 10 under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, the ED said in a press release issued on Friday.
According to the agency, searches were conducted at the residential premises of the then Chairman and Secretary of UKSSSC, the then Exam Controller, the owner of the private computer agency engaged for OMR processing, and associated middlemen allegedly linked to the conspiracy.
The residence of Chandan Singh Jeena was also searched. Jeena had earlier served as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to Harish Rawat during his tenure as Chief Minister from 2014 to 2017, the ED said. (ANI)
Uttarakhand: Yashpal Arya, Ganesh Godiyal question timing of ED raid on former CM Harish Rawat’s aide
