‘Insulted & humiliated’: Tihar cell had 2 CCTV cameras so PM could monitor me, says Kejriwal

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal says BJP wanted to break him and push him into depression, describes his interim bail as ‘manifestation’ of God’s will.

Delhi Chief Minister and AAP Convenor Arvind Kejriwal | PTI file photo

New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal alleged Monday that two CCTV cameras were installed in his cell in Tihar Jail so that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with other prison officials, could “monitor” his activities.

Addressing a gathering of the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) municipal councillors in Delhi, Kejriwal said he was “insulted and humiliated” in jail to “break me mentally and push me into depression”, describing the interim bail granted to him by the Supreme Court as a “manifestation” of God’s will.

“There were two CCTVs in my cell to track when I was waking up, eating, or sleeping. As many as 13 prison officials had access to the feed. The Prime Minister’s Office had a feed as well. The prime minister himself was monitoring my CCTV camera. Why? He wanted to see if I was broken… slipping into depression. But I have the blessings of Bajrangbali. I am not going to break,” Kejriwal said.

AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh had previously written to Modi and Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena, alleging that Kejriwal had been put under round-the-clock CCTV surveillance in jail.

On Monday, Kejriwal said if the opposition INDIA bloc won the Lok Sabha elections, he would walk out of jail on 5 June — the day after the results. But if that did not happen, and the AAP was found wanting in its efforts to defeat the BJP, “who knows when we will get to meet next”, he said.

Kejriwal was arrested from his official residence by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on 21 March in the now-scrapped 2021-22 excise policy case. His legal team had made a case for his interim bail on the grounds that he needed to campaign for the party. He has been granted bail till 1 June.

In his speech, Kejriwal, a diabetic, also brought up the controversy that had erupted over administering insulin to him in jail. The AAP had alleged that the CM was being denied insulin despite his erratic sugar levels. Eventually, he was given a low dose of insulin on 22 April after jail authorities consulted AIIMS doctors.

“They did not give me insulin for 15 days despite the fact that I have to take 52 units of insulin daily. My sugar levels kept rising and caused permanent damage to organs like the kidneys and the liver. They were compelled to do so after you people, along with the media, raised it,” Kejriwal said.

The efforts to “insult and humiliate” him did not end there, Kejriwal added, referring to how his wife Sunita was denied permission to meet him. Even murderers, rapists, and terrorists are allowed to meet family members in jail twice a week, he said, saying his wife was only granted permission after the media reported about it.

“Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann could not meet me in a room despite the provision that the jail superintendent can allow that if the inmate’s behaviour is good. But we sat on either side of a net like you see in movies. What was it if not insult or humiliation? That was the objective,” the AAP chief said.

The BJP, Kejriwal said, felt that the AAP would disintegrate after his arrest. It attempted to “poach our MLAs and councillors”, he alleged, praising AAP’s public representatives for not caving in. Invoking the Bhagavad Gita, Kejriwal said in situations where “adharma” pervaded the world, God appears either in various forms such as Rama or Krishna, or creates circumstances for the triumph of justice.

“Even three months back, one felt that the BJP was set to win 400 seats. But people are discussing whether they will win even 250. This is a manifestation of Lord Krishna’s assurance in the Gita. When I was arrested, I was mentally prepared to remain inside for six to seven months. I had no hope that I would come out in the middle (of the election). The SC judgment is akin to God’s miracle. Like one woman told me during a roadshow the other day that God has sent me to defeat the BJP in these 21 days,” he said.

(Edited by Tikli Basu)