'Who made Arvind Kejriwal's diet chart?': AAP's Atishi questions BJP, ED, Tihar officials

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Delhi minister Atishi on Monday made grave allegations against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Tihar jail officials. She said at a press conference that at the behest of the BJP, the Enforcement Directorate and Tihar jail officials opposed Kejriwal's plea to consult his doctor through video conferencing and that he wanted to start insulin at the earliest. 

The ED and Tihar jail officials said that Kejriwal should not be allowed to contact his doctor and get insulin, as per the Delhi minister. "They said that they have consulted AIIMS doctors. AIIMS doctors will tell what Arvind Kejriwal needs. AIIMS doctors say that if Kejriwal will follow the correct diet chart, he would neither need to consult his own doctor nor would he need insulin," Atishi said. 

The AAP leader further claimed that the ED and Tihar authorities did not consult any AIIMS doctor or diabetologist regarding Arvind Kejriwal before opposing his plea in court. "No consultation was done with Arvind Kejriwal before preparing the diet chart that was presented by ED and Tihar administration in front of the court. On what basis, the diet chart was provided?,” asked the Delhi Minister. 

Showing the diet chart presented by Tihar officials, Atishi mentioned that it has been made by a dietician of AIIMS. "Who made this diet chart? Did the AIIMS diabetologist make it? Did the AIIMS diabetes specialist make it? The ED has presented a diet chart made by the nutrition and dietetics department of AIIMS, " she said. 

She said that the dietician who signed Kejriwal's diet chart does not have an MBBS degree and is not an endocrinologist. Atishi furthermore noted that Kejriwal's sugar dropped from above 300 to 45 and he lost around 5 kgs in weight during ED custody, while adding he has diabetes since 30 years and that he takes 54 units of insulin.

"These documents prove that the BJP's ED and Tihar jail administration is trying to befool the courts and the country. There is a conspiracy being hatched to ensure that Kejriwal is not able to consult his doctors and get insulin," she said. 

Arvind Kejriwal diet chart 

Tihar administration, in a letter to AIIMS seeking a diet plan for the AAP chief, said Kejriwal had been consuming high-sugar food such as "sweets, laddoos, bananas, mangoes, fruit chaat, fried food, namkeen, bhujia, sweetened tea, poori-aloo, pickles and other high cholesterol food on a regular basis", the report said.      The diet plan provided by AIIMS has "strictly prohibited" fried foods like Poori, Paratha, Samosa, and Namkeen, fruits like mangoes and bananas, sweets, cake, chocolates, pickles, and vegetables like potatoes among others, it said.      Kejriwal is only allowed to consume 20 ml of oil per day in his food.

Tihar jail update on Arvind Kejriwal's health

In a report submitted to Delhi lieutenant governor VK Saxena, Tihar jail officials cited a diet chart from AIIMS to state that Kejriwal did not need insulin shots. Jail officials further said Kejriwal can be administered insulin "as and when required", news agency PTI reported.

Tihar report, however, said that under the care of a Telangana-based private doctor for diabetes, Kejriwal stopped taking insulin a few months ago, and at the time of his arrest, he was on a basic anti-diabetes oral drug called Metformin. 

It further said Kejriwal told jail doctors during his medical check-ups that he had been taking insulin "since the last few years and stopped taking it a few months back." Citing Delhi CM's medical records from RML Hospital, the report noted that Kejriwal was "neither advised any insulin nor any requirement of any insulin was indicated."

Arvind Kejriwal was arrested on March 21 by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with a money-laundering case linked to the Delhi government's now-scrapped excise policy. He has been lodged in Tihar jail since April 1.