As the deadline to surrender nears, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal posted an emotional message on Friday, expressing his pride in going to jail to "save the country from dictatorship." Kejriwal, who was granted interim bail by the Supreme Court on May 10, is set to surrender to Tihar Jail on June 2.
In his video message, Kejriwal stated, "Tomorrow the 21 days are getting over, the day after tomorrow I have to surrender. 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. They tried to break me many times, tried to make me bow down but I didn't."
Recounting his previous imprisonment, Kejriwal revealed, "When I was in jail, they tortured me in many ways and stopped my medicines. I have been a serious diabetic for 20 years. For ten years I have been getting insulin injections daily, four times a day. In jail, they stopped my injections for many days, my sugar reached 300-325. If the sugar remains so high for so many days, then the kidneys and liver get damaged. I don't know what they wanted, why did they do this."
The Delhi CM further disclosed his ongoing health issues, saying, "I was in jail for 50 days and in these 50 days, I lost 6 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. The doctor is saying that there may be some major disease in the body, and many tests may have to be done. The ketone level in the urine has become very high. The day after tomorrow I will leave home at 3 pm to surrender."
Kejriwal assured Delhi residents that government work will continue in his absence. "All your work will continue, wherever I live, inside or outside, I will not let the work of Delhi stop. Your free electricity, mohalla clinics, hospitals, free medicines, treatment, free bus travel for women, 24-hour electricity, and all other work will continue. After returning, I will also start giving thousand rupees per month to every mother and sister."
In a heartfelt plea, Kejriwal asked the public to pray for his ailing parents. "Today I am asking something from you for my family. My parents are very old. My mother is very ill. I worry a lot about them in jail. Take care of my parents after me, pray for them, pray to God. Prayer has great power," he said.
