Arvind Kejriwal

Arvind Kejriwal is a prominent politician and a former bureaucrat who has been serving as the current Chief Minister of Delhi since 2015. He was born on 16th August 1968 in a remote village in Haryana to Gobind Ram Kejriwal and Gita Devi.

As a bright student from childhood, Arvind cleared the test on his first attempt and joined IIT Kharagpur in West Bengal, choosing mechanical engineering as his stream. After completing his degree, he secured a job in Tata Steels, but soon he left the job for preparing civil service examination attending his true calling from heart. He also had the opportunity to work with Mother Teresa at her Kalighat Ashram for two months. He cleared the civil service examination in 1993 and joined the Indian Revenue Service as a Joint Commissioner of Income Tax in New Delhi. He married his 1993 IRS batchmate Sunita in 1995 and was blessed with two children with her.

His social life bloomed when he founded a movement called Parivartan in 1999 to expose fake ration card scams and assisted the citizens of Delhi in matters related to income tax, electricity, and food rations.

In 2006, Kejriwal received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Emergent Leadership for his active participation in the grassroots movement Parivartan, where he utilised right-to-information laws to combat corruption. In 2006, to focus more on a social cause, he resigned from his job and established the Public Cause Research Foundation. He contributed his Magsaysay award-winning as an initial fund to establish that NGO.

Kejriwal rose to popularity in 2010 when he associated himself with the prominent social activist Anna Hazare and others in the early 2010s while campaigning for the passing of the Jan Lokpal bill. Following differences with Anna Hazare regarding whether or not to politicise the popular India Against Corruption movement, he established his political party called Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and contested in the 2013 Delhi assembly elections, and they won 28 out of 70 seats. With conditional support from the Indian National Congress, he formed the government and was sworn in as chief minister of Delhi. But in 49 days, he resigned citing his failure to table Jan Lokapal. Following over a year of President’s rule in the national capital.

He contested in the 16th Lok Sabha election from Varanasi with presidential rule prevailing in Delhi against the BJP prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi but lost.

His party again contested in the 2015 Delhi assembly election received 67 seats out of 70 seats, and formed the government. He again took charge as the 7th chief minister of Delhi.

His administration has primarily focused on improving the education and healthcare domains. In an attempt to reduce the cost of daily commuting, he endeavoured to provide free metro rides for women, but this initiative proved unsuccessful. Consequently, the Delhi government implemented free DTC bus travel for women.

With his unique political views and zeal for public service, Kejriwal stands tall in Indian Politics.

But his government is at the centre of a significant controversy surrounding the introduction and subsequent scrapping of the excise policy aimed at reforming the liquor business in the national capital. The policy came under intense scrutiny following allegations of irregularities, prompting the previous Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena to order a thorough investigation.

Authorities, including the Enforcement Directorate (ED), raised concerns over the policy's profitability, suspecting that it facilitated high-profit margins while allegedly serving as a conduit for illicit funds, purportedly used to support election campaigns of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

In a startling turn of events, Arvind Kejriwal, found himself embroiled in the controversy, becoming the third prominent party member after his former deputy Manish Sisodia and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh's arrest in connection to the alleged liquor policy scandal. He skipped nine summons given by the ED, leading to heightened scrutiny and legal action.

The ED proceeded with its investigation, receiving approval from the Delhi High Court to pursue money laundering charges against Kejriwal. Plans were made to expedite the trial, aiming for a verdict by March 2025. AAP contested the case in the Supreme Court, but relief was not granted to Kejriwal. Instead, the court issued a notice to the ED, and the case was scheduled for further proceedings.

Kejriwal's judicial custody ended on April 23, with a decision regarding his custody to be made by a city court. Controversy arose over his diabetic condition, with AAP alleging denial of insulin by Tihar authorities. However, the ED countered this claim, stating Kejriwal had been consuming mangoes and sweets, possibly to influence his bail.

Amidst the exchange of accusations, a city court directed AIIMS to form a medical board to assess Kejriwal's need for insulin. Kejriwal claimed denial of insulin by jail authorities, while the administration stated he had not raised the issue with doctors.