Headlines
Fresh and fit' Kejriwal returns to Delhi
New Delhi, March 16
A "fresh and fit" Delhi
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal returned here on Monday night after 10
days of naturopathy treatment in Bengaluru cured his chronic cough and
checked his high blood sugar.
After landing on an Air India
flight, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader gave journalists the slip by
avoiding the VIP exit where they were massed in large numbers.
Kejriwal
took the exit used by other passengers, got into a car and headed home
on the outskirts of Delhi, an informed source said.
The
46-year-old is expected to resume work on Tuesday. An official in the
Delhi government told IANS: "This week is going to be a really busy one
as there are several decisions which need his approval."
Kejriwal's
focus would also be on the affairs in the AAP, which has been torn into
two factions, one of his loyalists and the other led by Prashant
Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav, both senior leaders.
Earlier, doctors
at a private hospital where Kejriwal was treated said he had overcome
his nagging cough and his blood sugar was now under check.
The chief minister was admitted on March 5 to the Jindal Naturecure Institute.
Before leaving the hospital, Kejriwal told the media that he was feeling "fresh and fit" and was excited to return home.
"My cough and blood sugar level are under control now. I am feeling fresh and fit after treatment at Jindal," Kejriwal said.
He said he was relieved to be free from months of coughing and high blood sugar as they affected his health and work.
"I am looking forward to be at home with family by night and resume work soon," he said.
"I
have been told to strictly keep away from aerated drinks and oily food.
I have learnt a lot about the importance of diet, rest and regular
exercises to stay fit and remain healthy."
Kejriwal declined to
comment on the crisis in the party, saying he was pre-occupied with the
naturopathy treatment and had no time to discuss the issues with his
colleagues in Delhi or Bengaluru.
Kejriwal was accompanied by his parents Gobind Ram and Gita Devi, who too got treated for age related symptoms.
Asked
about the cost of the treatment, Kejriwal said he paid the bills from
his own money and won't seek reimbursement from the Delhi government.
According
to hospital sources, Kejriwal was billed Rs.17,000 a day for
accommodation in a three-bed room cottage 'Nest' located in the midst of
the sprawling institute campus on the Bengaluru-Pune National Highway.
His treatment included therapies, massages, yogic exercises and ayurvedic liquids, fresh juices and dietary food.
Doctors have advised him to maintain a strict diet, take food at the prescribed hour and go to bed early and to get up early.
Kejriwal
was earlier treated at the institute when he came with social activist
Anna Hazare in February 2012. He then had high blood sugar level but no
cough.
He then stayed there for 16 days and followed a nature
cure regime, diet and treatment instructions meticulously. On discharge,
his sugar level was within normal limits without medication," a doctor
recalled.
But in the last three years, Kejriwal failed to maintain the lifestyle changes.
Preliminary
tests on March 5-6 showed that Kejriwal's faulty and stressful
lifestyle, including consumption of aerated drinks, irregular eating
habits, high level of pollution in Delhi and accumulation of toxins in
his body had resulted in chronic cough and high blood sugar.
The
institute has advised Kejriwal dietary changes and daily practice of
prescribed yogasana, pranayama and kriya -- a form of breathing
technique to cleanse the inner body.