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Why not Ambedkar’s picture on currency notes, asks Manish Tewari

A day after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal sought printing images of Lord Ganesha and Goddess Lakshmi on currency, Congress MP Manish Tewari on Thursday asked why not Bhimrao Ambedkar’s photo on a new series of notes.

The AAP national convener’s demand drew sharp reactions from the Congress with its Punjab unit chief Amrinder Singh Raja accusing Kejriwal of resorting to “competitive Hindutva” to outwit the BJP in poll-bound Gujarat.

Reacting to Kejriwal’s statement, Tewari, a Congress MP from Punjab’s Anandpur Sahib, tweeted, “Why not Dr Babasahib Ambedkar’s photograph on new series of currency notes? On one side the great Mahatma (Gandhi) the other side Dr (B R) Ambedkar.”

“Non-violence, Constitutionalism and egalitarianism fusing in a unique union that would sum up the modern Indian genius perfectly,” he said in the tweet.

During a media briefing on Wednesday, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to have images of Lord Ganesha and Goddess Lakshmi on currency notes. “Despite trying our best, sometimes our efforts do not fructify if the gods and goddesses are not blessing us. I appeal to PM (Modi) to have images of Lord Ganesha and Goddess Lakshmi on our currency (notes). If there is an image of Lakshmi-Ganesha on our currency (notes), our country will prosper. I will write to (the) prime minister in a day or two on this,” he said.