First thing in the morning: To touch my wife’s feet. This is what Delhi Social Welfare & Child Development Minister Sandeep Kumar said to a packed gathering in Delhi Secretariat on the occasion of International Women’s Day on Sunday. Kumar, who is Minister in the Arvind Kejriwal Government, had defeated senior Congress leader Jaikishan from Sultanpur Majra constituency during the Assembly elections.
“I have no hesitation in admitting to the fact that whatever I am today is because of my wife,” Kumar said. The Minister said he was a man of modest means and that his wife hailed from an affluent family. “I live in Sultanpur; she is from Defence Colony. My house is on 25 square metres of land. The toilets in her place are bigger than my house.” Kumar said his wife has been with him through thick and thin. “We have had roti with chutney and she has never flinched. She is a lawyer by profession and always insists I move ahead in my career.”
Kumar got a thunderous applause from the audience when brought his wife up on stage and made her sit in the Minister’s chair. Even Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and his wife were present. Before the function began, a message written by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was read out to the listeners. In his message, Kejriwal attributed the success of his life to his wife and mother.
Kumar told the women present in the auditorium that they could always pick his brain by calling him up directly on the mobile no. 9971339439, saying he belonged to a place which witnesses maximum cases of dowry and domestic violence.