A day after he took everyone by surprise with a proposal many BJP leaders see as inconvenient, AAP convener and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday wrote to PM Narendra Modi, urging him to print pictures of deities Ganesh-Laxmi on Indian currency.
In a formal letter to Prime Minister Modi, Kejriwal said that pictures of Hindu Goddess Laxmi and Lord Ganesh should be put on currency notes along with the picture of Mahatma Gandhi.
Kejriwal called it a request “on the behalf of 130 crore Indians” and argued that the move will help the country deal with economic hardships.
“It is the desire of 130 crore people of the country that there should be a picture of Gandhi Ji on one side of Indian currency and Shri Ganesh Ji and Lakshmi Ji on the other. Even after 75 years of Independence, India is counted among the developing and poor countries. Why are so many people still poor in our country?”
The Aam Aadmi Party chief said that Indians need the blessing of Gods for their hard work to bear fruits. “The country will progress only through the confluence of hard work and the blessings of the Lord,” he argued.
He claimed that his demand at a press conference on Wednesday to put the images of the deities on notes has received “tremendous support” from the public.
“Since then, there has been tremendous support from the general public on this issue. People are very excited about it. Everyone wants this to be implemented immediately,” Kejriwal said.
At his press conference, Kejriwal said: “We need to make many efforts to improve the economic condition of the country. At the same time, we also need the blessings of Gods and Goddesses. Laxmi Ji is considered to be the Goddess of prosperity and Ganesh Ji removes all disruptions from our path.”
Soon after, the AAP pressed its spokespersons and senior leaders into action, who argued that the proposal should not be opposed by any political party.
Caught seemingly off-guard, the BJP did not comment on the proposal but accused the AAP chief of trying to assuage the anger among Hindus over not allowing them to burst firecrackers during Diwali.
Some BJP leaders went on to compare Kejriwal and other AAP leaders with Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, who was notorious for persecuting members of non-Muslim communities and called them “jihadis”.
Opposition leaders said that the AAP is trying to woo Hindu voters in Assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat.