People will get divine blessings for financial gains if images of Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Ganesh are printed on currency notes, Aam Aadmi Party leaders said on Wednesday, backing Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's statement.
Earlier in the day, Kejriwal appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to have images of Lord Ganesh and Goddess Lakshmi on currency notes.
"If there is an image of Lakshmi-Ganesh on our currency (notes), our country will prosper. I will write to (the) prime minister in a day or two on this," he said at a media briefing.
The Bharatiya Janata Party, however, claimed that Kejriwal's demand for having images of the deities on currency notes is the height of U-turn as he is 'trying' to be a Hindu to divert attention from his party's 'anti-Hindu' mindset.
Requesting the BJP to support Kejriwal's proposal, Aam Aadmi Party MLA Atishi said, "You can continue to hate Arvind Kejriwal if you want to, but don't hate Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Ganesh at least. Don't hate their blessings. Don't hate this country's prosperity at least."
"I want to request the BJP with folded hands not to oppose this proposal just because they hate the AAP and Kejriwal," she said.
During the briefing, Kejriwal, who is the AAP's national convener, also said that the images of Lord Ganesh and Goddess Lakshmi could be printed on fresh currency notes.
The new notes could have an image of Mahatma Gandhi on one side and the two deities on the other, he said.
While BJP MP Manoj Tiwari termed the chief minister's demand an 'unsuccessful attempt' to hide his party's 'ugly anti-Hindu face' ahead of upcoming elections, party spokesperson Sambit Patra said Kejriwal is doing political drama to divert people's attention from the flaws of his government and the 'anti-Hindu' mindset of the AAP.
"What Kejriwal has said in his press conference is another extension of his U-turn politics. His hypocrisy is on show," Patra told reporters.
Hitting out at the BJP, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said, "Just because Arvind Kejriwal has requested for this, the BJP is uncomfortable with the proposal."
"Why is the BJP opposing it? The BJP and the prime minister should make their stand clear on this matter," he said.
The proposal for having pictures of Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Ganesh on fresh currency notes 'is important', as it is 'necessary to have blessings of God', Singh said.
"We definitely focus on developmental work, health, education and other aspects but along with that, blessings of God is also important," the AAP MP said.
Hence, Kejriwal has requested the Centre to print pictures of Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Ganesh on fresh currency notes, Singh said.
"Even Indonesia -- a country with over 85 per cent of Muslim population -- has lord Ganesh in their currency," he said.
Kejriwal had cited the example of Indonesia, a Muslim nation, that has an image of Ganesh on its currency note.
"When Indonesia can, why can't we? The images can be printed on fresh (currency) notes," he said.
Claiming that no 'Muslim leader' has opposed Kejriwal's idea yet, AAP MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj said that but 'all the leaders of the BJP' are 'opposing it'.
"BJP has got so much hatred for Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Ganesh that they are opposing the idea. No Muslim leader has opposed it till now. The proposal should be considered as soon as possible," he said.
AAP MLA Dilip Pandey asked why the BJP was so 'anxious' about Kejriwal's proposal of having images of Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Ganesh on currency notes.
"I want to ask PM Modi, why is the BJP against the faith of the whole country?" he said.
Asserting that he was not requesting to exchange all notes in circulation, Kejriwal said his suggestion was to include the images of Ganesh and Lakshmi on the notes that are printed every month.
"This way, a significant amount of these notes will be in circulation in some time," he added.
When asked about how the idea came to him, Kejriwal said he felt that currency notes should have the images of the two deities, while performing Diwali puja on Monday.
