Nashik: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal arrived in Igatpuri, Nashik on Monday for a 10-day Vipassana meditation course at the Dhamma Giri Vipassana International Academy. He will be incommunicado for the course’s 10-day period as talking by participants is barred. Mr Kejriwal arrived in the town on Monday evening and went straight to the Vipassana centre.
Mr Kejriwal, who carried his own bag, has been given cell number three for meditation in the pagoda. No communication between anyone is allowed during the course and mobile phones are switched off.
An ex-student of the course said that those undergoing the course are not allowed to speak with anyone, including family members. If they do speak, they are not allowed to complete the course as speaking interferes with the Vipassana meditation theory, the former student said.
Talking to the media outside the meditation centre, Mr Kejriwal said he would be completing the course as a common student without any privileges. As he will have to attend an important meeting in Delhi on the evening of September 19, he will leave on the same day to Mumbai and then by plane to Delhi.
Igatpuri police station assistant police inspector J.M. Pagar said that police personnel were patrolling the area, while Mr Kejriwal has his own security in the Dhamma Giri campus. AAP leaders Swati Maliwal, Vandana Singh and others accompanied Mr Kejriwal and will also be completing the course, sources said.
Local leaders and politicians from different parties met and welcomed Mr Kejriwal at Igatpuri, as there is no AAP leader in the locality. When journalists asked if AAP would be contesting elections in Maharashtra, he said, “No comments”.
Dhamma Giri is one of the largest Vipassana meditation centres in the world.
