Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asked the people of the nation’s capital to “take care of my parents” as he, as the “son” of every household in the city, sought to take care of them. On Friday, a day before his interim bail expires, he said he was “proud” of going to jail to “save the country from dictatorship.”
In a video address, Kejriwal, who is supposed to surrender in Tihar Jail on June 2, said the work being done in Delhi by his government will not stop. He said he will leave for jail from his residence at 3 pm on Sunday. He also said it was possible that he would be “tortured” in jail.
“We are all fighting dictatorship together. If something happens to me to save the country, if I even lose my life, do not be sad,” the Chief Minister said.
“I have always fulfilled my duty as a son of your family. Today I want to ask something from you for my family. My parents are very old, my mother is very ill, I worry a lot about her in jail. Take care of my parents after I am gone… If you pray for my mother daily, she will definitely remain healthy,” he said.
Kejriwal had approached the Supreme Court for extension of his interim bail for doctors to assess his health and sudden weight loss after his arrest on March 21 in connection with the Delhi excise policy case. According to AAP leaders, he lost 6-7 kg while he was in custody of the Enforcement Directorate.
The apex court did not hear the matter following which he applied for interim bail and regular bail in a Delhi court. The Rouse Avenue court will hear the interim bail plea on Saturday.
In his address, Kejriwal thanked the Supreme Court, which granted him bail for 21 days to campaign for the Lok Sabha polls.
“Tomorrow 21 days are getting over, I have to surrender the day after tomorrow. I will go back to Tihar Jail the day after tomorrow. I don’t know how many days these people will keep me in jail this time. But my spirits are high,” he said.
“I am proud that I am going to jail to save the country from dictatorship. They tried to break me in many ways… tried to silence me. But they did not succeed,” Kejriwal said in the video message, alleging that he was “tortured” in jail.
“They tortured me in many ways. They stopped my medicines; I have been a serious diabetic for 20 years… In jail, they stopped my insulin injections for many days, my sugar reached 300, 325 (mg/dL). If the sugar remains so high for so many days, then the kidney and liver get damaged. I don’t know what these people wanted, why they did this,” he said.
Talking about the need for diagnostic tests before going back to jail, the AAP leader said, “When I was arrested, my weight was 70 kg. Today it is 64 kg. Even after being released from jail, my weight is not increasing. Doctors are saying that this can also be a sign of some major disease in the body. Many tests need to be done, the ketone level in my urine has also increased a lot.”
Adding that the Delhi government will continue working in his absence, the Chief Minister said, “Your free electricity, mohalla clinics, hospitals, free medicines, treatment, free bus travel for women, 24 hours electricity and all other works will continue. And after returning, I will also start giving Rs 1,000 every month to every mother and sister.”
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