Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said “130 crore Indians” want pictures of Lord Ganesh and Goddess Lakshmi on currency notes.

Blessings of the Almighty are necessary for hard work to translate into success, the Aam Aadmi Party leader said.

Kejriwal reiterated his demand to print pictures of the two Hindu deities on currency notes at a rally at Morva Hadaf in Panchmahal district of Gujarat where Assembly elections are expected to be announced soon.

“If there is a picture of Ganesh and Lakshmi ji on a note, the country will progress. I am not saying that the country will make progress only by printing their pictures, we will also work hard. People of the country will work hard. We will devise the right policies,” he said. “But however hard you may work, unless you get the blessings of the Almighty, hard work does not succeed…..This is why I said there should be pictures of Ganesh and Lakshmi ji (on currency notes),” the AAP leader added.

Arvind Kejriwal had on Wednesday appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to have photos of Lord Ganesh and Goddess Lakshmi on currency notes.

During a media briefing, Kejriwal said that photos of Ganesha and Lakshmi could be printed on fresh currency notes. The new notes could have a picture of Mahatma Gandhi on one side and of the two deities on the other, the AAP leader had said.

“… Sometimes our efforts do not fructify if gods and goddesses are not blessing us. I appeal to PM (Modi) 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, Kejriwal had said.

“I want to tell the BJP and Congress that 130 crore people of the country want the pictures of Ganesh and Lakshmi on the note,” the AAP leader said.

Both the BJP and Congress were “abusing” him after he made the demand, he said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has described Kejriwal’s demand as an unsuccessful attempt to hide the “anti-Hindu face” of his party during Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh elections.

Samajwadi Party leader Swami Prasad Maurya has accused Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal of championing RSS and BJP agenda by his advocating of gods’ pictures on Indian banknotes.

Maurya had said on Thursday, “Arvind Kejriwal neither has knowledge of the Indian Constitution, nor does he know how to respect the secular Indian Constitution. Kejriwal’s complicity with BJP and RSS has become clear.”

“Kejriwal is speaking only what the RSS is getting him to speak. He is using the language similar to that of BJP’s and RSS’, good sense should prevail on him,” Maurya said, adding, Kejriwal can do anything in his greed for votes.

Maurya said that there are 34 crore deities in the country and even if the government puts two pictures on the currency notes, what will happen to the other deities.

What will happen to other religious leaders in the country? he also asked.

On Thursday, when reporters asked the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor about his reaction on BJP’s allegation that his appeal to print images of Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Ganesha on currency notes was a “political stunt” ahead of polls in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.

Kejriwal replied, “(If it is a political stunt) Then they should do it. If they feel that saying this would attract votes, then they should implement it. They have the government at the Centre. They should implement this and get votes.”

Gujarat BJP president CR Paatil on Friday said people should remain cautious and make sure the AAP does not remove Mahatma Gandhi’s photograph from currency notes like it did in government offices.

“The AAP has removed Gandhiji’s photos from the Punjab Chief Minister’s Office as well as from all government offices in the northern state after coming to power. People need to remain cautious to make sure the AAP does not remove Gandhiji’s photos from currency notes too,” Paatil told reporters at Patan town of Gujarat.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, who has been appointed a senior observer for Gujarat polls by the Congress, also slammed the AAP over the removal of Mahatma Gandhi’s images from offices in Punjab.

“Gujarat is the land of Mahatma Gandhi. He is revered by people around the world. But, the AAP has removed Gandhiji’s photos from government offices in Punjab. They do not have any moral right to seek votes in this state (Gujarat) after what they did (in Punjab). The people of Gujarat need to drive them out,” Gehlot said while talking to reporters in Vadodara.