After fueling a political controversy, AAP chief and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal finally wrote his much-awaited letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, citing his request to include pictures of Hindu god Ganesha and Goddess Lakshmi in Indian currency notes. .
Kejriwal believes that it will bring prosperity to the ‘suffering Indian economy’, when it is combined with the hard work of the masses. Lakshmi and Ganesha are at the center of prayers for prosperity and material gains in Hindu worship.
But what is the real motive behind the demand? The political corridor is full of speculation – and most believe it is to help AAP attract voters with a more Hindutva pitch amid the upcoming Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh assembly elections.
AAP, which won Punjab this year, is keen to become the principal opposition party against the BJP and gain ground in the states for the crucial vote. But in doing so, it is more interested in attracting the BJP’s vote base than in appealing to those who vote for the Congress, said a report. India Today.
However, the move, the report argues, comes with its caveats. This has been the conflict between the attitude of Arvind Kejriwal and AAP. For example, they demanded more powers in Delhi, but supported the Centre’s move to reduce the state of Jammu and Kashmir to a union territory and bring it under central rule as they did not oppose a certain section of the electorate. wanted. ,
Senior political journalist Iftikhar Geelani pointed out the dichotomy in the attitude of Kejriwal and AAP. They told India Today the party, with its differing stand on issues (such as support for the Centre’s J&K approach) may do so for not opposing a certain section of the electorate.
But it will leave the party ‘neither here or there’. The report further said that the AAP may lose some of what it already has, as voters coming from the Congress may feel disillusioned with the issues being raised by it. And on the other hand, even a two-way street may not necessarily shift BJP voters. “Why would many people settle for Babul Supriyo or Kumar Sanu when they can have Kishore Kumar?” It makes an argument.
And as expected, Kejriwal’s push was met with mostly negative reactions, who expressed dismay at its ‘non-serious’ nature of the demand’s ‘unconstitutionality’. This included criticism from celebrities including composer Vishal Dadlani – who have supported the AAP on past occasions.
There is also the matter of reducing the demands of the AAP amid its changing stance. Following Kejriwal’s request for Lakshmi-Ganesh, many leaders from the Shiv Sena to the BJP came up with their own versions of the currency, with leaders they respected.
BJP leaders wanted notes with images of Ram Kadam Savarkar, BR Ambedkar and others, and the Shiv Sena made a prototype for the ‘Shivaji’ note.
In such a situation, AAP’s demand cannot be taken as seriously as the party wants, and no matter what the intention.
Political experts have been questioning the AAP’s changing stand and it needs to go both ways – an intellectual opposition to the BJP as well as institutionalizing the saffron cadre’s zeal.
An example of this can be found in the party choosing BR Ambedkar and Shaheed Bhagat Singh as its key ideological figures. The party, along with Ambedkar, hopes to appeal to Dalits, and has on several occasions cited Bhagat Singh’s boldness to stay within its cadres – as a rubbish rebuttal to the BJP.
However, Kejriwal’s party was finding it difficult to truly talk, experts said. After the BJP objected to the ‘conversion ceremony’ of Rajendra Pal Gautam, the Delhi minister resigned with lack of an acknowledgment from top party officials. Some argued that what Gautam did was not possible for any Ambedkar follower.
But on the other hand, the party stood firmly with Patel leader Gopal Italia, who had earlier been embroiled in controversies over his alleged remarks on PM Modi. This, argued a report by Indian ExpressIt was a well thought out move on the part of Kejriwal ahead of the Gujarat elections, as the vote bank of Patels in the state was changing.
Now it has to be seen that if this demand of Kejriwal is not for the Indian economy then what will be the result for the party.
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