On Monday, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal claimed that his weight decreased by 7 kg in a month without a reason, and this is a serious health problem. He made the claims after approaching the Supreme Court seeking an extension of his interim bail by 7 days, which was rejected by the court later on Tuesday. And now, data released by Tihar jail shows that his weight remained mostly unchanged during his stay in the jail.
Addressing a press conference in Bathinda, Kejriwal said on Monday, “My weight has fallen a lot. If a person’s weight falls by 7 kg in a month without any reason, then it is a very serious problem. So the doctors have prescribed several tests. I have asked for 7 days so that I can get all my tests done within a week. There could be some serious disease going on inside. The doctors said that if all the tests are done, then at least we will know whether some serious disease is going on inside or not.”
AAP leaders further claimed that Kejriwal has lost 7 kilograms weight in ED custody after his arrest and his ketone level is high which could signal some serious disease. AAP leader and Delhi minister Atishi said, “Despite being out of custody and under medical supervision, he has not been able to regain the weight again. Early tests have indicated that his ketone levels are extremely high. Unexplained sudden weight loss along with high ketone levels could be the indicator of some serious medical ailments, including damage to the kidneys, including cancer.”
She claimed that doctors have advised a series of tests, including “PET scans of his entire body, and other such serious tests,” justifying the demand for bail.
However, data released by Tihar jail on Kejriwal’s health expose that all these claims are nothing but lies. In a statement issued today (30 May 2024), the senior medical in-charge of Tihar jail gave details of Kejriwal’s body weight on 6 different days from 1 April to 9 May, which show his weight fell from 65 kg to 64, which had gone up to 66 kg in between.
Therefore, when Arvind Kejriwal was in judicial custody in Tihar Jail, his weight remained almost constant, and there was no drastic 7 kg fall as claimed by Kejriwal and other AAP leaders.
This is not the first time the AAP claimed Kejriwal’s weight loss after his arrest. In the first week of April, AAP had claimed his weight had decreased by 4.5 kg. But the Tihar Jail authorities had busted this lie by releasing his medical data, which showed that his weight was constant at 65 kg. Later his weight went by 1 kg to 66 kg.
His weight gain in jail was the result of consumption of sugar-rich food, despite being a diabatic patient. ED had alleged that the Delhi CM was trying to boost his blood sugar level by eating mangos, potatoes, sweets etc, all brought from his home, in order to claim bail on medical grounds.
This shows that AAP is lying about Arvind Kejriwal’s weight while the data proves otherwise. Atishi claimed the weight went down during ED custody. But earlier in April, the claim was that weight decreased by 4.5 kg, and now they are saying 7 kg. His weight has remained constant from the day he was sent to Tihar to the day he was released on interim bail.
Atishi claimed that when ED arrested Kejriwal, his weight was 69.5 kg, so it went down by 4.5 kg to reach 65 when he was sent to Tihar. On 9 May, the day before he was released, his weight was 64 kg. Therefore, even if it is true that his weight was 69.5 kg on 21 March, it will be a fall of 5.5 kg over two months, not a 7 kg fall in a month.
