Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who has been on a hunger strike for the past five days, was taken to hospital on Monday afternoon after his health deteriorated, ANI reported. He was taken to Lok Nayak Jaiprakash Narayan Hospital.
Health Minister Satyendar Jain, who too has been on fast since Tuesday, was hospitalised on Sunday night after he complained of headache, nausea and breathing problems, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted. His condition has stabilised since then, PTI quoted the hospital’s Medical Superintendent Dr J C Passey as saying.
“Our team of three specialists – cardiologist, diabetologist and nephrologist – was checking them [Kejriwal and his three Cabinet ministers who are on fast] morning and evening,” Passey told NDTV. “Jain was stable in the afternoon but his ketone level was high. In the evening, he complained of headache, nausea, and breathing problems.”
Kejriwal, Jain, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia – who is also fasting – and Development Minister Gopal Rai have been camping at Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal’s office since June 11. They want Baijal to ask Indian Administrative Service officers to end their “strike” over the alleged assault on Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash during a meeting at Kejriwal’s residence in February.
On Sunday, Kejriwal promised security and safety to bureaucrats in the state after they claimed that they had felt threatened during their work. He urged the IAS officers in Delhi to “return to work” and start attending meetings with ministers again.
Some bureaucrats had held a press conference on Sunday evening, saying they were not on a strike as the state government has claimed. The IAS Association said it was completing work, but admitted that they were not attending “routine meetings” with ministers out of fear for their safety. They also alleged that they were being used for political purposes.
Hours after their press meet, Kejriwal said in a tweet that the IAS officers are “a part of my family”.
“I wish to assure them that I will ensure their safety and security with all powers and resources available at my command,” he wrote. “It is my duty. I would urge them to stop their boycott of elected government, return to work now and start attending all meetings of ministers, respond to their calls and messages and join them for field inspections. They [should] work without fear and pressure.”
Kejriwal and the three ministers have alleged that the officers are on strike on instructions from the Centre, which they claim wants to paralyse the Delhi government’s functioning. A lot of the work has been stalled in Delhi as officers have not attended meetings since February, the Aam Aadmi Party has claimed.
On Sunday, the party’s workers tried to march to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but the Delhi Police did not let them move beyond Parliament Street. The march was later called off.
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