CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin defended the use of the Tamil letter ‘roo’ to denote the rupee in the state government’s budget logo, saying it was done to convey TN’s commitment to its language policy.
“We wanted to demonstrate our resolve in upholding Tamil Nadu’s language policy. That’s all. But those who dislike Tamil made this a big controversy,” Stalin said in a video message on Sunday.
Taking a dig at Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Stalin pointed out that despite TN sending “hundreds of requests” for financial aid, she remained silent. However, she chose to speak up when a Tamil letter was used in the state govt’s budget logo. Stalin said even in some of her posts, ‘roo’ had been used. “But when we do the same, it becomes a problem for them,” Stalin said, hitting out at BJP leaders.
He also pointed out that the use of ‘Rs’ instead of the rupee symbol was a common practice. “In any case, our budget as well as Tamil have become a huge hit,” he said.
Stalin dismissed opposition criticism of the budget, stating it had won widespread praise and detractors were opposing it for political reasons. “Those who criticise the budget should read the newspapers and understand its significance,” he said.
On criticism about mounting debt, Stalin said Tamil Nadu’s debt ratio remained within permissible limits. He said the govt had slowed the rate of debt accumulation and was ensuring that borrowed funds were spent judiciously. “What matters is where we invest the borrowed money, and we are doing it wisely,” he said.
On the efforts that went into the preparation of the budget this year, Stalin said eminent economists Esther Duflo, Raghuram Rajan, Jean Drèze, Arvind Subramanian, and S Narayanan had provided inputs. The govt also sought suggestions from the public and studied successful schemes other states, he said. For instance, TN’s decision to involve transpersons in traffic management was inspired by a similar proposal in Telangana
“We spent hours discussing and fine-tuning the budget,” Stalin said, playing media clippings where economists lauded the budget.
Stalin said his next priority was to ensure efficient implementation of budgetary schemes while continuing to fight for Tamil Nadu’s rights with the Union government to achieve TN’s goal of becoming a $1 trillion economy by 2030. “I will have no rest,” he said.