Arvind Kejriwal’s pitch for images of Hindu Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Ganesha on Indian currency notes is an opportunistic political gimmick. We could call it ‘majority appeasement’ by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to take on BJP in its bastion Gujarat.
Rahul Gandhi started this kind of trend recently, with his newfound interest in visiting temples. He even took spiritual initiation from Karnataka’s Lingayat seer Dr. Sri Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru. However, the pontiff is currently behind bars in a rape case.
But unlike Rahul Gandhi, Kejriwal’s demand for Hindu deity images on currency notes is a louder call for Hindu votes. He even quoted Indonesia as an example. He said though the country has only 2% of the Hindu population, it has images of Lord Ganesha on its currency.
Opposition parties, including the Congress and AAP, which call BJP’s ‘majoritarianism’ detrimental to democracy, are slowly warming up to appease Hindu voters. It’s a reaction to BJP consolidating its Hindu vote bank by reviving heritage centers like Varanasi and Ayodhya, also allowing highly polarising acts like remission for Bilkis Bano case convicts.
Pushing his demand further, Arvind Kejriwal, on Friday, said, “I have written a letter to the Prime Minister, and have requested him on behalf of 130 crore Indians that the Indian currency notes should have photos of Lakshmi and Ganesha apart from that of Mahatma Gandhi,” in a tweet in Hindi.
Kejriwal’s demand is like throwing a stone at a beehive. He knows it will kindle reactions across political circles and possibly evoke a favorable response from voters.
What Arvind Kejriwal said earlier:
” I reiterate that we need to make a lot of efforts to revive our economy. However, we need the blessings of God along with it. Goddess Lakshmi is considered the goddess of prosperity. And Lord Ganesha is considered as the God who ends difficulties.”
“Today, I’m appealing to Prime minister Narendra Modi and the center that our currency notes have Mahatma Gandhi on the one side. It should remain as it is, but on the other side, there should be an image of Ganesh and Lakshmi.”
However, he added, “We are not asking to exchange all notes in circulation; new currency notes which are printed every month can have their images from now on,” he added.
Image: PTI