The Enforcement Directorate (ED) alleged in a Delhi court on Thursday that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is deliberately eating mangoes and other high-carb food in Tihar Jail to raise his blood sugar level to build a case for bail.
Arguing the matter before Special Judge Rakesh Syal of the Rouse Avenue Court, special counsel Zoheb Hossain appearing for the ED said on the one hand CM Kejriwal is claiming high sugar levels, and at the same time he is eating mangoes, sweets, etc. in jail.
The Delhi Chief Minister is in judicial custody till April 23 for his alleged involvement in the excise policy case.
The ED has alleged that CM Kejriwal is consciously consuming items like tea with sugar, banana, sweets (1/2 pieces), poori, aloo sabji, etc. on a regular basis, despite being a Type 2 diabetes patient, "knowing very well that consumption of such items results in an increase in sugar levels".
The agency also said that this is being done to create a medical emergency "to obtain sympathetic treatment from the court on medical grounds".
"Further, the jail authorities on Wednesday asked AIIMS to prescribe a diet chart for the Chief Minister after considering his sugar records and the fact that he is a Type 2 diabetes patient with chronic constipation and cough (chronic bronchitis), who is under regular treatment," the ED counsel said.
However, advocate Vivek Jain, appearing for CM Kejriwal, opposed the federal agency's submission saying the ED counsel is playing by the gallery and making statements for the media.
After a brief hearing, the court sought a medical report from Tihar Jail authorities on the CM's diet and listed the matter for hearing on Friday.
While the ED's allegations were made in court on Thursday, the issue has been doing the rounds on social media since Wednesday.
According to a post on X, one of the netizen's sources in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) revealed that CM Kejriwal is taking high-sugar food deliberately to increase his sugar level so that he can use it as a reason to get bail.
"He is not only forcing the jail authorities to give him sugar-laden high glycemic index drinks and food early in the morning, but his family is also sending him sugar and carb-laden food so that his blood sugar rises," the post read.
CM Kejriwal's lawyers had gone at length detailing his health conditions earlier, saying he was diabetic when he was sent to judicial custody.
Kejriwal's counsel had informed the court that his blood sugar level dropped to 46 and argued that in such circumstances, he should be allowed to consult his doctor three times a week via video conferencing.
However, special public prosecutor (ED) Simon Benjamin had contended that jail facilities are equipped to conduct medical examinations, suggesting that CM Kejriwal could be examined there, expressing his intent to file a reply on the application.
Meanwhile, another user posted: "Every day Kejru asks for high sugar food like juice, banana etc. and he gets high carb food! The plan is to show high sugar and get out of jail. This has been told by your top sources. Whether this is true will be known in a few days!"
Last week, alleged conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar claimed in a press statement that Kejriwal is fooling the people with news of losing weight and falling sick.
"Everyone should know that he is luxuriously enjoying his salads and palak paneer," claimed Chandrashekhar, who is also behind bars in a money laundering case.
(With inputs from IANS)
