Delhi water minister Atishi said she received a direction from Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal late on Saturday - the first since his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) - to solve the state's water and sewer-related problems. Kejriwal issued the order to the Water Department through a note.
Addressing a press conference, Atishi said the directions brought tears to her eyes with Kejriwal showing concern for the people of Delhi despite his plight.
"When I read these instructions, I had tears in my eyes. He is not thinking about himself but about the people of Delhi in such an adverse situation. Arvind Kejriwal does not consider himself just the Chief Minister of Delhiites, he considers every Delhiite as a member of his family. So being a son, an elder brother, even in custody, he is worried 24 hours a day about his family of 2 crore people," Atishi added while showing the order.
In the first order, Kejriwal directed to deployment of adequate water tankers in areas where there is scarcity to strengthen supply ahead of the approaching summer. Kejriwal directed to issue instructions to the chief secretary and other officers in this regard, Atishi said.
He also suggested seeking the help of Lt Governor VK Saxena, if needed.
Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on Thursday from his official residence in connection with an excise policy-linked money-laundering case. He has been remanded to the ED custody till March 28 by a Delhi court.
According to Kejriwal's lawyer, the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) Court had allowed Sunita Kejriwal and Bibhav Kumar (Kejriwal's assistant) to meet him every day for half an hour between 6-7 pm, apart from his lawyers. Sunita later met him at the ED office at A P J Abdul Kalam Road and was seen holding papers as she entered the ED office with some staff.
Meanwhile, the first major meeting of the Aam Admi Party after the arrest of Kejriwal, who is also the party’s national convenor, has begun in Delhi. The party's organizational general secretary Sandeep Pathak will chair the meeting with all the party leaders, MLAs, councillors and office bearers. "This is the first big meeting after the arrest of the party supremo. There is likely to be discussions on the party's future strategy," a source told PTI.