Arvind Kejriwal demands Lakshmi, Ganesh on currency notes. PTI
New Delhi: While Arvind Kejriwal, on Wednesday, demanded that photos of Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Ganesh must also be carried on Indian currency notes besides Gandhi ji, BJP was quick to point out that his pro-Hindu tone was a result of people snubbing him for his stern stance on Diwali fire crackers as also aimed at the coming state assembly elections.
Taking to Twitter, BJP and social media users slammed the Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor for his anti-Hindu remarks made earlier.
‘Kejriwal trying to break his Aurangzeb image’
Soon after Kejriwal made appeal about the photos on currency note, BJP Delhi spokesperson Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga shared a clip on Twitter where he needled the Delhi CM saying: “Kejriwal tried to send Hindu kids in jail for bursting crackers, Hindus give befitting reply. Now just to break his Aurangzeb image @ArvindKejriwal trying to become Hindu.”
Last week, the Delhi government had announced that anybody bursting firecrackers in Delhi till January 1, 2023 can be fined Rs 200 and jailed for up to six months.
Kejriwal an ‘opportunist’ Hindu
Senior Adviser, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, Kanchan Gupta also took to Twitter and said, “Question: What do you call an opportunist Hindu? Answer: @ArvindKejriwal”.
“Question: What do you call a fraud who invokes his granny’s name for opportunist politics? Answer: @ArvindKejriwal,” Gupta said in another post.
‘Kejriwal hurt his nani, made Jawaharlal Nehru angry’
After Kejriwal’s appeal, an old tweet of BJP National Spokesperson Sambit Patra started doing rounds on social media with people re-posting his clip of the Delhi CM altering his words on Ayodhya and Shri Ram.
In October last year, Patra shared a video saying, “Today, Kejriwal ji has hurt his ‘Nani’… not only Nani…even Jawaharlal Nehru would also be upset…It is not right to disrespect elders like this ‘Sir ji’!”
Kejriwal appears to have sharply altered his tone on Ayodhya and Shri Ram. In 2014, he had said that Shri Ram could not live in a Temple that was built after the demolition of a Masjid.
Speaking at a rally, he said: “When the Babri Masjid was demolished, I asked my nani (maternal grandmother) that she must be happy. A temple for her Bhagwan Ram will be constructed in Ayodhya. To which she replied, my Ram will not live in a temple that is constructed by demolishing a mosque.”
“Time and again, the BJP has started saying for the last one month that ‘Mandir Wahin Banayenge’ (We will build the temple there), and when we asked when they will build it, they say, won’t tell the date but repeat every five years that Mandir Wahi Banayenge,” Kejriwal said at a later event and the clip was stitched to the video shared by Patra.
In another clip from 2018, Kejriwal can be heard saying that he wonders whether this country would have been developed if Jawaharlal Nehru had built a temple instead of the Steel Authority of India.
Kejriwal faces backlash from social media users
Other social media users also too took a jibe at Kejriwal for his comments. “After backlash from Hindus against cracker ban now #ArvindKejriwal appealing central govt to put pics of Shri Ganesh Ji & Shri Laxmi Ji along with Gandhi Ji’s photo on currency notes,” a user wrote.
Another user said, “It’s hard to believe that this suggestion is from #ArvindKejriwal, who came to change the nation and politics… Either he was always like this or politics changed him. Either ways, this is pure nonsense. Such disgrace to his education and teachers.”
A user alleged that Kejriwal is playing the Hindu card for Gujarat elections. “He will next play Muslim card for Telangana elections, Durga card for Bengal elections, Guru Nanak card for Punjab elections, caste card for UP elections. He will sell his mother if it helps him win elections!”
Kejriwal appeals the Centre to put pics of Lord Ganesh, Goddess Lakshmi on currency notes
Arvind Kejriwal today appealed the Centre that putting the photos of Lord Ganesh and Goddess Lakshmi on currency notes along Mahatma Gandhi’s photo will ensure that the people of the country are blessed in their efforts to better the economy.
“If the gods are on the currency nots, the entire country will get their blessings. Lakshmi is the goddess of prosperity and Lord Ganesh is a god who keeps away troubles,” the Delhi CM said.
He went on to say that if the photos of the gods are put on currency notes, it will ensure that the efforts taken up to improve the country’s economy will bear fruit.
“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.
Kejriwal continues his appeal saying that the photos of the idols can be added to the fresh currencies that are minted every month and there is no need for a callback of the current currency notes. It will gradually get circulated among the people.
Kejriwal gives Indonesia’s example
Giving Indonesia’s example, Kejriwal said that despite the country having a Hindu population which is less than 2 per cent of the entire population, Lord Ganesh is printed on their currency notes. “I think this is a great step which the Central government should take up,” he added.
With inputs from agencies
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