Kejriwal's Diwali-special Appeal to Modi: 'Introduce Currency Notes with Images of Lakshmi-Ganesh'

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to introduce currency notes with images of Lord Ganesha and Goddess Lakshmi on one side and Mahatma Gandhi’s picture on the other. “If Indonesia can do it, we can do it too," he added.

Kejriwal was referring to the picture of Lord Ganesha inscribed on the 20,000 rupiah note of Indonesia beside an inscription of Ki Hajar Dewantara – a celebrated Indonesian independence activist.

“Despite making efforts, sometimes our efforts do not fructify if gods and goddesses are not blessing us. I appeal to PM (Modi) to have photos of Lord Ganesha and Goddess Laxmi on our currency (notes). “If there is a photo of Lakshmi-Ganesha on our currency (notes), our country will prosper. I will write to (the) prime minister in a day or two on this," he said.

The chief minister further said that the present currency notes needn’t stop but the new ones being printed can have the images of Lord Ganesha and Goddess Laxmi, and slowly it can come in circulation.

Supporting Kejriwal, his deputy Manish Sisodia said, “Maa Lakshmi and Lord Ganesha are symbols of prosperity. With their blessings, the country will prosper and become number one. Putting a picture of the two deities along with Mahatma Gandhi on the currency notes will prove to be auspicious for the entire country."

Senior BJP leader and MLA Vijender Gupta attacked the CM over his statement and said that Kejriwal is “desperate as his party’s anti-Hindu character is exposed".

Senior Congress leader Salman Anees Soz tweeted, “Dear @ArvindKejriwal : If Laxmi and Ganesh can bring prosperity, then we should make sure we get even more prosperity and include Allah, Jesus, Guru Nanak, Buddha and Mahavira too."

BJP MP Manoj Tiwari termed AAP chief’s demand an “unsuccessful attempt" to hide his party’s “ugly anti-Hindu face" ahead of elections. If Kejriwal really meant what he said then he should expel former Delhi minister Rajendra Pal Gautam and AAP’s Gujarat unit president Gopal Italia from the party for “speaking against Hindu deities", Tiwari demanded.

Lamenting the fact that the India economy was not in a good shape, the Delhi chief minister said the country was passing through a delicate situation with the rupee depreciating against the US dollar.

“We all want India to be rich and every family here to be prosperous. We have to open schools and hospitals on a large scale," he added. Kejriwal also said the Aam Aadmi Party was fully prepared for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi polls and stressed that the people of the national capital would reject the BJP.

He also challenged the BJP to cite one good work it had done in Gujarat, where it has run a government for the last 27 years. “All demonic powers aligned against us," Kejriwal said on the upcoming polls in Gujarat.

The Delhi chief minister also lauded the efforts of Delhi residents for the decline in the city’s pollution levels. “We are still not satisfied. We want to make Delhi the city with the cleanest air," he said.

Last year, Kejriwal along with his wife Sunita Kejriwal and Cabinet ministers performed Diwali Puja at Thyagaraj Stadium from a stage modelled on the upcoming Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.

A “state-of-the-art" magnificent 30-ft-high and 80-ft-wide symbolic replica of the Ram Mandir of Ayodhya was crafted especially at the Thyagraj Stadium for the “Dilli Ki Diwali" celebrations. Wearing maroon red kurta with a golden stole, Kejriwal, flanked by his wife Sunita, who wore a light olive green ‘sari’ with a blend of yellow, led the Puja and performed rituals amid chanting of ‘shlokas’ by Acharya Shri Kant Shastri, the head priest of Jhandewalan Temple.

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