Kejriwal cancels birthday celebrations over former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee's critical health

Kejriwal requested party volunteers & well-wishers not to celebrate his birthday in view of deteriorating health condition of former Prime Minister Sh Atal Behari Vajpayee Ji.

Delhi Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal. PTI Photo.

NEW DELHI: This year, CM Arvind Kejriwal opted not to celebrate because of critical health of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the floods in Kerala. On Twitter, Kejriwal requested party volunteers & well-wishers not to celebrate his birthday in view of deteriorating health condition of former Prime Minister Sh Atal Behari Vajpayee Ji. It was also said that Volunteers are requested to refrain from visiting CM residence.

Delhi CM @ArvindKejriwal requests party volunteers & well wishers not to celebrate his birthday in view of deteriorating health condition of former Prime Minister Sh Atal Behari Vajpayee ji. Volunteers are requested to refrain from visiting CM residence.

— Nagendar Sharma (@sharmanagendar) August 16, 2018

Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday greeted Kejriwal on his birthday. PM Modi took on Twitter and wrote “Birthday greetings to Delhi CM Shri @arvindkejriwal Ji. May he lead a long and healthy life.” Modi and Kejriwal do not share a comfortable relationship and have often launched political attacks on each other.

Birthday greetings to Delhi CM Shri @arvindkejriwal Ji. May he lead a long and healthy life.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 16, 2018

To his birthday greetings, Kejriwal replied “Thank u so much sir,”

Thank you so much sir. https://t.co/jCYwryIFkR

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) August 16, 2018

Other politicians like West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and NC leader Omar Abdullah also took to Twitter to wish the Aam Aadmi Party chief. An IIT-Kharagpur graduate, Kejriwal had joined the services as an Indian Revenue Service officer in 1995 but quit his high profile job in 2012 to form the Aam Aadmi Party. In 2006, Kejriwal was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Emergent Leadership recognising his involvement in the grassroots movement Parivartan using right to information legislation in a campaign again corruption. On 14 February 2015, he was sworn in as Chief Minister for a second term after his party's victory in the Delhi Legislative Assembly election.