The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Saurabh Bharadwaj claimed on Sunday that the Tihar jail authorities have requested a diabetologist/endocrinologist from AIIMS for Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. This comes a day after the Tihar authorities submitted a report to Delhi lieutenant governor (LG) which said that use of insulin was not indicated for Kejriwal.
A fresh set of allegations had unfurled at the Rouse Avenue court over the past week after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) claimed the CM was indulging in mangoes and consuming sugary tea in a deliberate attempt to obtain sympathy from the court for bail. The AAP refuted the allegations and said the 55-year-old chief minister had been complaining of increased blood sugar levels and flagging the need for insulin which has been refused by ED.
“On April 20, the director general (Prisons) wrote to AIIMS, asking for a diabetologist to be posted at Tihar. Kejriwal has been lodged at Tihar for nearly 20 days and they are asking for a diabetologist only now. On one hand, the Tihar administration says they have medical facilities and then, they are writing to AIIMS, asking for a diabetologist,” Bharadwaj said at a press conference organised at the at party headquarter on Rouse Avenue.
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The minister reiterated the party’s stand that a conspiracy was being hatched by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the central government to “kill Kejriwal in jail.”
“Arvind Kejriwal has said he needs insulin and he needs to consult a doctor. He wanted to consult his private doctor over a video call. On the other hand, BJP and Tihar Jail are saying that he is okay and doesn’t need insulin,” Bharadwaj, the Delhi health minister, said.
The report, a copy of which HT has seen, said that said that Kejriwal was not on insulin when he was arrested and brought to the jail, adding that he had stopped taking insulin shots months before his arrest on March 21.
The report, signed by the director general (DG), prisons, added that Kejriwal’s vitals were being monitored daily and the results were also attached. Considering all parameters and vitals of the CM, since his lodgment in judicial custody, his blood sugar levels were not alarming, and administration of insulin was not required, the report said.
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The AAP leader also posted a picture of a letter purportedly written by DG, Tihar jail to AIIMS and tweeted, “Expose! There was no diabetes specialist in the jail. After 20 days, a doctor from AIIMS was asked for yesterday. For so many days, Arvind Kejriwal has been saying that take me to a diabetes specialist and give me insulin. Till now the BJP government at the Centre was saying that there are specialists in the jail; what is the need for specialists from outside?”
Bharadwaj later released a copy of the letter to the journalists during the press conference.
Responding to the AAP leader’s tweet, a senior Tihar administration official said that appropriate senior specialists from AIIMS provided consultation to Kejriwal through video conference on Saturday. “Appropriate senior specialists from AIIMS yesterday provided consultation to Arvind Kejriwal in jail through VC. After a 40-minute detailed consultation, Kejriwal was assured that there was no serious concern and was advised to continue with the prescribed medicines, which will be evaluated and reviwed on a regular basis. The consultation was organised by the Tihar Jail administration on a request by Sunita Kejriwal,” the official said XXX [said where, in a statement, tweet or to HT].
The official added that apart from senior specialist from AIIMS, medical officer of Tihar was also present during the consultation. The senior specialist from AIIMS asked for and was provided with complete record of CGM (Glucose Monitoring Sensor) and details of diet and medicines being taken by Kejriwal. Neither the issue of insulin was raised by Kejriwal nor the doctors advised him to take insulin,” the official added.
Kerjwal was arrested on March 21 by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with a money-laundering case linked to the Delhi government’s now-scrapped excise policy. He has been lodged in Tihar jail since April 1. On Friday, the Tihar jail administration submitted a report to Delhi LG VK Saxena, saying that the chief minister’s health was reviewed and it is “incorrect to state that Kejriwal was denied insulin.
After reports that the CM was being denied insulin in jail, the LG had asked the Director General (DG) of Prisons to submit a factual and comprehensive report to him within 24 hours about his health and medical records. The LG had also posted on social media that though ‘prisons’ is a state government subject, no laxity will be tolerated with regard to the CM’s health. Kejriwal was sent from the ED’s custody to judicial custody in Tihar jail on April 1.
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