Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, whose interim bail ends tomorrow, said on Friday that he was proud that he was going to jail to save the country from dictatorship.

In a 4-minute video recording, Kejriwal said, ”The Supreme Court had given me 21 days’ time. Tomorrow 21 days are getting completed. I have to surrender the day after tomorrow. The day after tomorrow I will go back to Tihar Jail. I don’t know how long they will keep me in jail this time. But my spirits are high. I am going to jail to save the country from dictatorship. I am proud of this…”

Kejriwal appealed to people to take care of his family when he goes back to jail on June 2. He was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in March in a money laundering case linked to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam on March 21.

A court in Delhi on Thursday deferred till June 1 Chief Minister Kejriwal’s bail plea in a money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped liquor policy. Kejriwal has sought both regular bail and interim bail in the case.

The Supreme Court registry has also refused to list for an urgent hearing his application for the extension of interim bail in Delhi Excise Policy case by 7 days on medical grounds, noting that the “plea is not maintainable”.

Kejriwal said, “They tried to break me in many ways, tried to bow me down, tried to silence me, but they did not succeed. When I was in jail, they tortured me in many ways. They stopped my medicines. I have been a diabetic patient for 20 years. For the last 10 years, I have been getting insulin injections every day, I get injections 4 times every day. In jail, they stopped insulin injections for many days. My sugar level reached 300…

”I don’t know what these people want. I was in jail for 50 days, and in these 50 days I lost 6 kg weight. When I went to jail, my weight was 70 kg, today it is 64 kg. Even after being released from jail, the weight is not increasing. Doctors are saying that these can also be symptoms of some serious disease. Many tests need to be done.”

He said he will leave his house at around 3 pm to surrender, adding that ”It is possible that this time they may torture me more, but I will not bow down… ”

He also announced that the AAP will soon start a Rs 1000 honorarium scheme for women.

He further said, ”Wherever I live, inside or outside. I will not let the work of Delhi stop. Your free electricity, mohalla clinics, hospitals, free medicines, treatment, 24-hour electricity and many other things will continue and after returning I will also start giving Rs 1000 every month to every mother and sister. ”

Kejriwal appealed to people to take care of his family when he goes back to jail on June 2.
”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 me, pray for them…”

| Delhi CM #ArvindKejriwal, whose interim #bail ends tomorrow, said today that he is proud to be going to jail to save the country from #dictatorship. He appealed to the people of #Delhi to take care of his family when he returns to jail on June 2.#AAP #DelhiCM #politics… pic.twitter.com/JzSgkQZBMz

— The Statesman (@TheStatesmanLtd) May 31, 2024