Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for including photos of Hindu Goddess Lakshmi and Hindu God Ganesha on currency notes in a letter, stressing that he has made an appeal "on behalf of 130 crore Indians".
“It's a wish of 130 crore Indians that there should be a picture of Mahatma Gandhi on one side of currency notes and the photos of Lord Ganesha and Goddess Lakshmi on the other side”, Kejriwal said in the letter. "Tremendous support has been received on this issue. There is massive enthusiasm among the people and everyone wants this to be implemented immediately," Kejriwal claimed.
The AAP convener said in the letter that Indian economy is passing through a very bad phase and India and is listed among developing countries despite 75 years of Independence. “India is counted among the developing and poor countries. Why are so many people still living in poverty in our country? On the one hand, all countrymen need to work hard and on the other, we also need blessings of the deities so that our efforts bear fruits," Kejriwal wrote.
“The country will progress only with a confluence of correct policy, hard work and blessings of the gods. I publicly demanded this by holding a press conference. 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," he added. Claiming that the Indian economy was not in good shape, Kejriwal had on Wednesday said the country needed a lot of effort to get the economy back on track along with the "blessings of our gods and goddesses".
Kejriwal's demand has evoked sharp reactions from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress they called it an unsuccessful attempt to hide the "ugly anti-Hindu face" of the AAP in view of upcoming elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.
The political grapevine is abuzz with speculations - and most believe it is to help AAP attract voters with a more Hindutva pitch amid upcoming Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh assembly elections.
“Kejriwal's remarks reflect electoral gain or loss calculations rather than his faith in Hindu deities. Kejriwal is trying to project himself as a staunch Hindu, because he has realized that there are already half a dozen leaders like Mamata Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav and Nitish Kumar, who are claiming minority votes.
Kejriwal's calculation is that if he tries to lure even half of the 82 per cent Hindu votes, his work will be done, because he believes that Muslims will have no other option but to vote for his party,” said Congress MLA Kanwar Karan Singh.
“People use currency notes in a very casual manner , they keep currency notes in their pockets, touch them with dirty hands, even some people use their spit while counting the notes, so by putting it on the notes, we will not only insult them but also humiliate Sanatan Dharma.
Therefore, it is necessary that no importance should be given to any such appeal or suggestion” , said traders body leader Praveen Khandelwal.