Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal delivers a video message, ahead of his surrender before Tihar jail authorities, on Friday, May 31, 2024.
PTI Photo
New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Friday that he will be surrendering on June 2 and, in an emotional appeal, asked the people to take care of his old and ailing parents after he is gone.
"I will leave my house around 3 pm (on Sunday) to surrender. It is possible that this time they will torture me more, but I will not bow down," he said.
He assured the people of Delhi that all the facilities available to them will continue even in his absence.
"You take care of yourself, I worry a lot about you in jail. If you are happy, your Kejriwal will also be happy.
"I will not be among you, of course, but you don't worry, all your work will continue... And after returning, I will also start giving Rs 1000 every month to every mother and sister," he said in a virtual press conference."
Making an appeal to the Delhiites who stood by him in difficult times to look after his aged and ailing parents, he said he has always fulfilled his 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 will worry a lot about her in jail.
"Take care of my parents after I am gone, pray for them, pray to God. Prayers have great power. If you pray for my mother daily, she will definitely remain healthy," he said.
Kejriwal said his wife Sunita is very strong and has supported him in every difficult phase of life.
"When difficult times come, the whole family comes together, you all have supported me a lot in difficult times. It is because of your prayers that I am alive today and your blessings will protect me in the future too. In the end, I just want to say that if God wishes, your son will come back very soon," he said.
He assured the people that all facilities available to them, including 24-hour free electricity and women's bus travel, will continue.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener was granted interim bail by the Supreme Court till June 1 for the Lok Sabha election campaigning. After being released from the Tihar jail here, Kejriwal visited Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Delhi and Maharashtra for campaigning.
"We are all fighting dictatorship together... If something happens to me while saving the country, if I even lose my life, do not be sad," Kejriwal said.
"I will go back to the Tihar jail day after tomorrow. I do not know how many days these people will keep me in the jail this time. But my spirits are high.
"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 bow me down and tried to silence me. But they did not succeed," the chief minister said.
The AAP supremo alleged that when he was in the jail recently, he was "tortured" in many ways. He said his medicines were stopped.
"I have been a serious diabetic (patient) for 20 years. For the last 10 years, I have been getting insulin injections daily. I get injections in my stomach four times every day," he said, alleging that in the jail, his insulin injections were stopped for many days.
He said his sugar levels reached 300, 325 (mg/dL). If the sugar remains so high for so many days, the kidney and liver get damaged, he added.
"I don't know what these people wanted and why did they do this," he said.
Talking about the unexplained weight loss during his incarceration, the AAP supremo said during his 50-day stay in the jail, he lost six kg of weight.
"When I went to jail, my weight was 70 kg. Today it is 64 kg. Even after being released from jail, my weight is not increasing," he said.
Kejriwal said the doctors are saying that this can also be a sign of some major disease in his body. The ketone level in his urine has also increased considerably and many tests need to be done, he reiterated.
Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva hit back at Kejriwal and said he has a "disease of lying".
"Delhi CM (Arvind Kejriwal) has said that he has a serious disease. I agree with what he has said. He has a disease of lying," he said.
Sachdeva said Kejriwal did the election campaigning. However, when now the time has come for him to go to jail, he is reminding everyone of his diseases, the BJP leader added.