When Arvind Kejriwal, the chief minister of Delhi, had a blood sugar spike of 320 on Monday night—the ideal range being between 70 and 100—he was given insulin at Tihar jail. The AAP leader, who has diabetes, blasted the Tihar jail administration for allegedly not giving him insulin even though he asked for it several times.
The Tihar jail administration refuted Kejriwal’s accusations, stating that no discussion of insulin or its necessity was had during a video consultation with AIIMS specialists.
“It’s evident now that the Chief Minister was correct—he required insulin. However, the central government officials under the BJP were purposefully failing to treat him. Tell me, BJP members! Why is insulin not necessary?,” Delhi Minister and AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj said in a statement.
AIIMS was ordered by a city court to establish a medical board in order to evaluate Kejriwal’s medical requirements, specifically with regard to insulin. The court drew attention to differences between the doctor’s recommended diet and the Delhi Chief Minister’s home-cooked meal plan.
Kejriwal refuted the jail administration’s assertion that he never brought up the topic of insulin during his meetings with the doctors in a letter he sent to the Tihar jail superintendent on Monday. Kejriwal is adamant that he brought up the subject of insulin demand repeatedly over a ten-day period.
The AAP has alleged that the Tihar administration withheld insulin from Kejriwal, alleging a conspiracy to harm him.
Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva has claimed that AAP leaders aimed to generate public sympathy for Kejriwal’s health during the Lok Sabha elections.
“No doubt Arvind Kejriwal is a diabetic but his sugar is under control in jail as he didn’t raise demand for insulin in the video consultation with the doctors of AIIMS,” said Sachdeva.
By accusing Kejriwal of regularly consuming sugary foods, the Enforcement Directorate implied that they were trying to take advantage of his health in order to gain legal leverage. Kejriwal accused the agency of politicizing the matter and quickly brushed these charges aside as trivial.
“I demonstrated my elevated blood sugar levels to every physician who saw me. “I demonstrated to them that the blood sugar level had three daily peaks, ranging from 250 to 320,” Kejriwal wrote in his letter.
