New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who had two days ago appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to incorporate images of Hindu deities Lakshmi and Ganesh on currency notes to improve the economy, on Friday, October 28, once again wrote to Modi with the same demand.Claiming that the Indian economy was not in good shape, Kejriwal had on Wednesday, October 26, said the country needed a lot of effort to get the economy back on track along with the “blessings of our gods and goddesses”.“It’s the wish of 130 crore Indians that there should a picture of Mahatma Gandhi on one side of currency notes and the photos of Lord Ganesha and Goddess Lakshmi on the other side,” he wrote in the letter.Also read: Neither ‘Pro-Hindu’ nor ‘Anti-Hindu’, Kejriwal is a Monetary Genius in Modi’s Mould“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 in the letter, written in Hindi.The Aam Aadmi Party convener said in the letter that Indian economy is passing through a very bad phase and India and is listed among developing countries despite the fact that it has been 75 years since Independence.“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, he said.मैंने प्रधानमंत्री जी को पत्र लिखकर 130 करोड़ भारतवासियों की ओर से निवेदन किया है कि भारतीय करेंसी पर महात्मा गांधी जी के साथ-साथ लक्ष्मी गणेश जी की तस्वीर भी लगाई जाए। pic.twitter.com/OFQPIbNhfu— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) October 28, 2022The demand was largely interpreted as one timed with expectations of electoral dividends in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, which will have assembly polls soon.Kejriwal’s demand – which many saw as a clear step by the Aam Aadmi Party to enter the Bharatiya Janata Party’s ‘Hindutva territory,’ evoked sharp reactions from BJP, which called it an unsuccessful attempt to hide the “ugly anti-Hindu face” of AAP.Several BJP leaders said Kejriwal’s demand was an “attempt to cover up public assertions of his party leaders against Hindu deities”, while the Congress demanded Delhi chief minister’s resignation for allegedly violating secular principles of the constitution.AAP MLA Atishi, in a separate press conference, asked the BJP leaders to continue to “hate” Kejriwal if they wished so but to not “denounce blessings of Lord Ganesha and Goddess Lakshmi.”
