Ghaziabad, Dec 30 (IANS) Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal did not attend office Monday as he was taken ill but had a full working day at home as his government made its first major announcement of providing 666 litres of free water to each household per day.
“Running 102 fever since yesterday (Sunday). Severe loose motions. Sad that I won’t be able to attend office today,” Kejriwal tweeted Monday.
“It was so important to attend office today (Monday). We had planned the water announcement. God, bahut galat time par bimaar kiya (God, you made me fall ill at a wrong time),” he wrote on his Twitter page.
Kejriwal’s family doctor Vipin Mittal told reporters that the Aam Aadmi Party leader has diarrhoea and has been advised rest.
Senior party leader Kumar Vishwas said Kejriwal was “very ill” and doctors had to put him on intravenous glucose.
However, the Delhi chief minister was in constant touch with officials throughout the day, Vishwas added.
Supporters and common people started trooping outside the chief minister’s private residence at Kaushambi here since early Monday morning with various demands.
The crowd included a group opposed to granting reservation quota to Other Backward Classes (OBC) to the Jat community, and employees of New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) and home guard who were demanding permanent jobs.
The group protesting OBC reservation also burnt an effigies of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice president Rahul Gandhi.
AAP volunteers placed a help desk outside Kejriwal’s apartment block and started noting down the various demands. The volunteers assured the people that their applications will be forwarded to the chief minister.
Towards the afternoon, Kejriwal held a meeting with Delhi Jal Board members and officials where the decision to provide free water was taken.
Kejriwal and the AAP during assembly election campaign promised 700 litres of free water per household per day. However, in the final calculations Monday, the ruling party and the Jal Board officials arrived at the figure of 666 litres.
Police deployed outside Kejriwal’s residence kept the media out of the gates.