Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has signed his first order from prison after being arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case related to the alleged irregularities in formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped excise policy.
The development is unprecedented in itself given no sitting chief minister has been arrested in the independent history of India, let alone sign an order from inside the prison.
In the order, Kejriwal directed Delhi Water Minister Atishi to deploy water tankers in sufficient quantity so that there is no shortage in the national capital.
The Delhi chief minister is in the custody of Enforcement Directorate and currently lodged in Tihar jail.
Addressing a press conference, Delhi minister and AAP leader Atishi said that she was in tears after reading the chief minister’s note and said that Kejriwal is thinking about people of the national capital despite being in jail.
“Arvind Kejriwal ji has sent me a letter and a direction. On reading it, I was in tears. I kept thinking who is this man, who is in prison, but is still thinking about Delhi residents’ water and sewage problems. Only Arvind Kejriwal can do this because he considers himself a family member of Delhi’s 2 crore people,” Atishi said.
She said that Kejriwal has been reviewing the ongoing development works in all departments.
“All the projects and matters have been under his supervision. Now he is under the custody of the central government… Summers are also coming and several places face water supply problems, so he has given directions on how to address the issue… department and the officers will be directed as per the directions given by the CM,” she said.
The order comes amid a debate over whether a chief minister can continue to work from prison. The BJP has slammed Kejriwal after his party announced that he will not quit and work from inside the jail.
“Gangs, and not governments, are run from inside the prison,” BJP MP from Delhi Manoj Tiwari had said on Saturday, demanding Kejriwal’s resignation.