INDIA bloc leaders seek Kejriwal’s release due to poor health

Delhi CM’s wife Sunita Kejriwal said his “life was in danger” and attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over its “politics of hatred”, claiming his arrest was part of a political conspiracy

New Delhi

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, TMC leader Derek O’Brien, NCP leader Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut and RJD MP Manoj Kumar Jha also backed the AAP. (Arvind Yadav/HT Photo)

Leaders of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc on Tuesday staged a protest at the Jantar Mantar to demand the release of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, who has been jailed since March by central agencies in connection with alleged irregularities in the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy of 2021-22.

Delhi CM’s wife Sunita Kejriwal said his “life was in danger” and attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over its “politics of hatred”, claiming his arrest was part of a political conspiracy. Sunita Kejriwal, who occupied a centrally placed chair on the dais shared by INDIA bloc leaders, welcomed all of them.

Congress leader Pramod Tiwari, the party’s deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha, extended “complete moral support” on behalf of Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, TMC leader Derek O’Brien, NCP leader Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut and RJD MP Manoj Kumar Jha also backed the AAP.

On July 29, a row broke out over the health condition of Kejriwal between the office of the Delhi lieutenant governor (LG), VK Saxena, and the AAP, with the LG’s office saying Kejriwal was “wilfully” not consuming the prescribed diet in jail and blaming “less calorie intake” for his weight loss. The AAP shot back, questioning why Kejriwal would put himself at risk, given that he suffers from type-2 diabetes, citing “risky” blood sugar levels during his stay in jail.

Sunita Kejriwal said the Delhi CM has been arrested on the basis of a statement that was “forcibly extracted” from an NDA MP. “Arvind Kejriwal has diabetes for the past 22 years and takes insulin to control his high sugar level. When he went to jail, insulin was not provided to him. We had to move the court to get him insulin. Under a conspiracy, his health problems were ignored. Arvind Kejriwal has a sensor attached to his arm which monitors his sugar level,” Sunita Kejriwal said, displaying a part of the device to the public.

“We learned that his sugar level is continuously down, and has gone below 50 on five occasions when he was sleeping. We thank God that no untoward incident happened. There is high threat to his life, and under a conspiracy his health conditions are being ignored,” she said.

“LG recently wrote a letter saying that CM was wilfully eating less. What a joke this is! Will he put his life in danger by eating less? LG also said that CM was not taking required amount of insulin. I want to tell the LG that insulin is needed when the sugar level is high. His sugar is already going below 50... will he kill himself by taking insulin?” Sunita Kejriwal said.

Pramod Tiwari said: “The ED arrest (of Kejriwal) was illegal, the matter reached the court and the court found no merit in the case and gave bail, but you are so scared of Arvind Kejriwal that to ensure that he does not come out of jail, ED moved the high court. It was done on the direction of the two (BJP leaders)…later, when bail was finally granted (to Kejriwal), you got him arrested by the CBI. The elected chief minister has been arrested unconstitutionally, and we oppose it.”

The LG’s office did not respond to requests for comment.

INDIA bloc leaders said the BJP government at the Centre would not be able to survive for five years, claiming it did not have majority and needed two key allies to survive.

Congress’s deputy leader in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi said: “Their government will not survive five years. In a few years, the Lok Sabha elections will be held again. You should be ready for the election and elect INDIA bloc to power to protect the Constitution and democracy.”

Extending his support, Akhilesh Yadav said: “Even after AAP leaders were put in jail, the morale of the AAP is not down, and they are fighting for their release. All of us are concerned about Kejriwal’s health. All cases against Kejriwal should be dismissed and he should be released from jail. When we will come to power, we will finish the agencies that are being used to harass opposition leaders.”

Shiv Sena (UT) leader Sanjay Raut termed Kejriwal’s arrest as the “height of injustice”, saying it will come to an end. “We will show what ED and CBI can do when our government will come to power. The fight will continue till Kejriwal and his leaders are not released, and will also continue till we do not put you (BJP leaders) in jail. The central government does not enjoy complete majority. Soon this (NDA) government will go, and INDIA government will come to power,” Raut said.

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said: “People are shocked to see the INDI Alliance leaders standing up in support of corruption allegations-tainted CM of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal, who has been kept in jail by court. One fails to understand against whom the INDI Alliance organised the protest because the cases against Kejriwal may have been filed by the investigation agencies, but to keep him in jail or grant him bail is the wisdom of the judiciary.”