"Print photos of Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Ganesha on one side and that of Mahatma Gandhi on the other on currency notes." Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s latest 'prescription' for tackling the economic slump in the country saw the AAP and BJP engage in a war of words.
Kejriwal, who says he got the idea on Monday while doing Diwali puja, believes one needs to put in efforts but without the blessings of the gods, one would not achieve success.
He spoke about his new idea during a press conference called to announce the specific demand here on Wednesday.
Kejriwal will be writing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a day or two, as he cited the example of Muslim majority Indonesia having an image of Lord Ganesha on its currency to buttress his point.
Emphasising that the Indian economy is not doing well at the moment, he said the rupee is falling vis-a-vis dollar day after day and the common man is facing the brunt of it because of the economic situation.
“This is because India is still a developing country. We are considered a poor country. We all want India to be developed and rich. All Indians and their families should be rich. For this, a lot of steps, efforts are needed,” he said.
To become a developed country, he said India needs to set up schools, hospitals, ensure power, road and infrastructure in large numbers.
“However, efforts will be fruitful only when there are blessings of our gods and goddesses. Efforts are needed. We all do. But we see there is no result despite our efforts. If there are blessings of gods and goddesses, there are results,” he said.
"Despite making efforts, sometimes our efforts do not fructify if gods and goddesses are not blessing us. I appeal to the Prime Minister to have photos of Lord Ganesha and Goddess Laxmi on our currency notes. If there is a photo of Lakshmi-Ganesha on our currency (notes), our country will prosper," he said.
Citing the example of Indonesia, he said, “when Indonesia can, why can't we? The photos can be printed on fresh (currency) notes."
He said he was not asking to change all notes but to start putting pictures of Lord Ganesha and Goddess Lakshmi in the new notes.
Asked whether there would be criticism, he said let there be accusations. He said he had discussed his idea with several people in the last two days and most of them have supported his idea.