Aam Aadmi Party national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on April 19 told a Delhi court that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) was being “petty” and accused the agency of “politicising” what he ate in prison. Mr. Kejriwal’s statements came a day after the federal agency claimed that the Delhi CM, who is currently lodged in Tihar Jail, is eating foods high in sugar despite having Type 2 diabetes, to raise his blood sugar level and create grounds for medical bail.
The Delhi CM on Thursday withdrew a plea seeking consultation with his doctor thrice a week regarding his fluctuating sugar levels and moved a fresh plea on Friday seeking 15-minute daily consultations with his physician and access to insulin. The court will pronounce its order on April 22. Mr. Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on March 21 in connection with the Delhi excise policy-linked money laundering case.
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“ED claimed that I want to increase my blood sugar levels to get bail. Am I going to risk paralysis to get bail? Whatever food I have is as per the diet chart prepared by my doctor prior to arrest,” the AAP chief’s counsel senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi told the court.
Mr. Singhvi told the court that there were only a few occasions when his client had deviated from his prescribed diet.
“The allegation is that I have been consuming mangoes... Out of 48 meals sent from home, only three times mangoes were there,” Mr. Singhvi said. Regarding claims that his client was consuming sugar and aloo-puri, Mr. Sanghvi said the AAP chief mixed an artificial sweetener in his tea. “How petty, political and ridiculous can the ED be? Their statements are completely false and malicious. Just because you have a lot of influence in the media, you are able to publish that I am having aloo-puri even though this meal was sent only once during puja.”
Diet chart
The ED opposed Mr. Singhvi’s submissions, claiming that the food Mr. Kejriwal was consuming was not in accordance with the diet chart prescribed by his doctor and that Tihar Jail was well-equipped to deal with his dietary requirements. Tihar Jail authorities also submitted a report before the court indicating that the home-cooked meals consumed by the Delhi CM were not in compliance with the prescribed diet.
“There was no stipulation in his diet that he should have fruit or anything. In fact, he is not following the diet. We have also got an opinion from AIIMS. According to this, he should avoid mangoes. He should follow this diet. There is no need for insulin. In fact, if he takes insulin, his sugar level will go down drastically,” the counsel for Tihar jail, Yoginder Handoo, told the court.
Justice Kaveri Baweja, who was hearing the arguments, expressed displeasure that Mr. Kejriwal’s home-cooked meals were not in compliance with his prescribed diet. She had earlier permitted the Delhi CM to have home-cooked meals due to his diabetes.
‘ED-BJP conspiracy’
Meanwhile, AAP continued to allege that Mr. Kejriwal was deliberately being denied insulin and that, as a result, his blood sugar was spiking. The party also lashed out at the ED, asking how information about any prisoner related to his health or food habits could be made public. It also alleged that the BJP and ED were conspiring to harm Mr. Kejriwal’s life in prison by spreading lies.
“According to the jail rules, you cannot make any kind of information about any prisoner, related to his health or food habits, public. I want to ask the ED with what authority did it get Mr. Kejriwal’s false diet chart publicised in the media yesterday?” senior party leader and Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh said.
Senior AAP leader Atishi said the ED should not interfere with the Delhi CM’s diet. “It is a probe agency to deal with money laundering. Why is it getting into what he [Mr. Kejriwal] is being served in jail,” Ms. Atishi asked.
