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Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Sunday released a video on X (formerly Twitter), issuing clarifications regarding the state assembly budget session and the row over the change in rupee symbol, saying that those who don't like Tamil made it an issue.
"I had released the budget logo. We had put 'RU' in it to show how committed we are to the language policy. That's all. But, those who don't like Tamil have made it a big news," Stalin said. He highlighted the state's demands from the union government regarding disaster funds and release funds for education. However, he added, that Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman didn't respond to the demands but fixated on the issue of the rupee symbol. He said that Sitharaman herself has posted 'Ru' in many of her posts on social media, explaining that many write Rupees as "Rs" in English. "I have demands on behalf of Tamil Nadu from the Union Government, such as giving the salary for the 100-day work program - giving disaster funds and releasing school education funds. The Union Finance Minister, who did not respond to all of that, has spoken about this. She herself has put 'Ru' in many posts. In English too, everyone writes Rupees - a simple Rs. This seems to be the problem for those who don't know. Overall, our budget is a hit at the local level," Stalin said. Talking about the efforts made by the state government for the budget, Stalin informed that the Economic Advisory Council (EAC) to the Chief Minister was advised by Nobel laureate Esther Dublow, scholars Raghuram Rajan, Arvind Subramanian, etc. "Nobel laureate Esther Dublow, scholars Raghuram Rajan, Jean Therese, Arvind Subramanian, Narayanan, etc., provided a lot of advice in the Economic Advisory Council to the Chief Minister. On the other hand, we also asked the grassroots people what their needs were. We prepared this budget by sitting in the Secretariat from 6 pm to 10 pm for several days, talking to ministers and officials," the CM said. Speaking about the criticism from the opposition regarding the budget, Stalin said there was nothing substantive about criticisms, which were not constructive. Talking about the debt growth, the CM said that under the DMK government, the same has been reduced to 93 per cent. "If it is constructive criticism, we can consider it. Just to say something negative, what some people say only shows hatred towards the government. There is nothing substantive in it. However, I would like to give some examples of how well we have been performing. From 2011 to 2016, our debt growth was 108 percent. This increased to 128 per cent from 2016-2021. But, since our Dravidian model government took charge, we have reduced this to 93 per cent," he added. (ANI)
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