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Kejriwal’s currency proposal triggers row
The AAP chief on Wednesday asked for Indian currency notes to feature images of Hindu gods Ganesha and Laxmi along with that of Mahatma Gandhi, efforts that he said may bolster India’s economy.
Several Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders on Wednesday backed Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s appeal to incorporate images of Hindu gods Ganesha and Laxmi on currency notes, even as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alleged that the comments were aimed at making electoral gains in Gujarat and not inspired by genuine faith.
The AAP chief on Wednesday asked for Indian currency notes to feature images of Hindu gods Ganesha and Laxmi along with that of Mahatma Gandhi, efforts that he said may bolster India’s economy, adding that he will soon write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to push for the move. He cited the example of Indonesia to burnish his argument.
“If Indonesia [a Muslim-majority country] can do it, we too can,” he said.
As the BJP hit out, blaming Kejriwal for trying to make up for his government’s hard position against Diwali firecrackers, AAP’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said that the BJP should clarify its stance on the issue.
“The intention behind having images of Goddess Laxmi and Lord Ganesha on currency notes is to receive the blessings of gods for the country’s prosperity and happiness. If a Muslim-majority country like Indonesia can have image of Lord Ganesh on its currency notes, why is the BJP opposing the appeal of CM Arvind Kejriwal?” Singh said. “BJP and the Prime Minister should make their stance clear if they agree or disagree with the appeal. If they are opposing this move, they should also tell the reason behind it.”
BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said the blessings of Laxmi and Ganesha are, and will always be, with Indians.
“Even if the world goes into a recession, India will not go, due to the blessings of Laxmi and Ganesha and hard work by our Prime Minister. In contrast, Delhi is running an advertisement policy. AAP spends more on advertising its bio-spray for stubble and blames gods for not blessing the economy,” he added.
In Hinduism, Laxmi is regarded as the goddess of wealth, while Ganesha is considered to remove obstacles to an endeavour and bring good luck.
Kejriwal’s comments come amid a challenging period for the global economy, which is buckling under the triple pressures of an international supply-chain crisis, Russia’s war with Ukraine and the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
While India, unlike other major global economies, has so far been spared the worst of the economic headwinds, the country has seen lower-than-expected GDP growth, and been grappling with rising prices of food and fuel.
Kejriwal provided a positive suggestion in the face of these challenges, said members of his party, adding that, as a graduate from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, the AAP chief was well aware that “science and faith” are not in conflict with each other. AAP’s chief spokesperson and Greater Kailash MLA Saurabh Bharadwaj said: “He (Kejriwal) is an engineering graduate from the country’s topmost college. He had also been an IRS officer. However, science and technology and faith do not have any conflict with each other. Each of us needs the blessings of goddess Laxmi,” he said.
Opposition parties in Delhi dismissed the suggestions as political posturing.
Delhi BJP MLA and leader of the Opposition in the state assembly, Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, alleged that Kejriwal’s push for Hindu deities on currency notes was due to the upcoming elections in Gujarat. “The public knows that Kejriwal is saying all this only to hide his anti-Hindu sentiments. If he had faith in Laxmi and Ganesha, why didn’t he organise Diwali puja, which he has been doing for the past few years, this year,” he said.
The Congress accused him of behaving like the BJP’s “B team”.
“He is the B-team of the BJP and RSS [Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh]. He doesn’t have any understanding of the matter and is just vote-bank politics. If he goes to Pakistan, he will say ‘I am Pakistani, vote for me’,” Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit told news agency ANI.
Delhi Congress president Anil Kumar said that Kejriwal should resign from the chief minister’s post for “violating” the secular principles enshrined in the Constitution.
“Kejriwal is playing low-level politics by dragging Hindu deities into his political gambit to violate the country’s secular credentials,” he said.
Kalkaji MLA Atishi said the AAP was a party of believers, not agnostics.
“Indians want to see images of Laxmi and Ganesha on currency notes. I appeal to the BJP to not oppose this proposal. For the well-being of the economy of this country, it will be of great benefit to have the blessings of both these gods,” Atishi said.
Several countries use religious symbols, mosques and churches on their currency notes. For instance, Albanian currency notes depict Church of Vau; Czech Republic uses St. Salvator’s Church; Russia showcases St. John the Baptist Church and such religious places are showcased on currency notes of Ukraine and Croatia as well.
The use of gods and goddesses, however, is rare.
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