The Delhi CM and AAP organizer says the idea came to him when he was doing pooja on Deepavali.
The Delhi CM and AAP organizer says the idea came to him when he was doing pooja on Deepavali.
Ahead of Assembly polls in Gujarat, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to print images of Hindu deities Ganesh and Lakshmi on Indian currency to ‘enhance’ the Indian economy and the “progress” of the country.
Mr Kejriwal said the idea came to him when he was doing pooja on Deepavali on Monday and added that putting the pictures alone was not enough but it had to be done with other efforts. .
“Efforts become fruitful when you have blessings from gods and goddesses… When you have blessings from gods and goddesses, (we) get results,” AAP chief said at conference release at his residence in Delhi.
“Today I appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modiji, in Indian currency on one side there is a picture of Gandhiji, she should be there herself. But on the other side the pictures of Ganeshji and of Lakshmiji should be put on the Indian currency.To improve our economy, we need a lot of effort… Along with this, we need the blessings of the gods and goddesses,” Mr. Kejriwal said.
The AAP leader has asserted his Hindu identity and has also invoked Hindu symbols and icons in the past.
Less than a week away from the 2020 Delhi Assembly election, Mr Kejriwal sang “Hanuman Chalisa” (a song in praise of the Hindu deity Hanuman) during a TV interview; in the 2021 budget session of the Delhi Assembly, he said that they tried to establish ‘Ram Rajya’ in Delhi; Later that year, he performed pooja in a 30-foot-tall replica of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, which was installed in Delhi by the AAP government on Deepavali Day.
On the other hand, he remained silent on many issues related to Muslims.
In August 2021, when a crowd of people at Jantar Mantar – in the heart of the nation’s capital – shouted slogans about “killing Muslims”, while chanting “Jai Shree Ram”, the AAP supremo remained quiet .
In August this year, Mr Kejriwal also remained silent on the release of 11 people, who were convicted of the 2002 rape of 19-year-old pregnant Bilkis Bano in Gujarat – a state where his party is fighting against elections to the Assembly.
Earlier this month, top AAP leader Rajendra Pal Gautam had to resign as a cabinet minister in Delhi, after converting to Buddhism along with thousands of others and uttering 22 vows taken by BR Ambedkar in 1956, including that of renouncing the Hindu deities Ram, Vishnu and others.
‘Blessing from the Gods’
Asked how he came up with the idea on Wednesday, Mr Kejriwal said: “The day before yesterday when I was doing Diwali pooja, then it occurred to me that he (pictures of Ganesh and Lakshmi) should be there on Indian Currency… I am not saying that doing this alone will improve the economy of the country.
He said if the images of Ganesh and Lakshmi were printed, then the whole country would receive their blessings. Mr Kejriwal said the government did not have to change the old banknotes, but the images had to be printed on the new currency.
“Indonesia is a Muslim country. Over 85% of the population are Muslims and less than 2% are Hindus. But they have an image of Ganeshji imprinted on their notes… We are not speaking against anyone… This is about the prosperity of everyone and the country,” he said.
