Madurai (Tamil Nadu) [India], March 14 : Amid the controversy over the Tamil Nadu government replacing the rupee symbol in the state budget with the Tamil symbol 'Ru,' Congress MP Manickam Tagore on Friday dismissed it as a "non-issue." Instead, he highlighted the "discrimination" faced by Tamil Nadu from the central government.
He alleged that funds for education and rural development in Tamil Nadu had been stopped by the Centre and called for an end to such treatment.
"It is a non-issue, which the BJP wants to take up. The important thing is the way Tamil Nadu has been discriminated against by the central government. The funds for education and rural development have stopped for Tamil Nadu. Many projects are being stopped. This discrimination against Tamil Nadu must end," Tagore said.
His reaction comes after the Tamil Nadu government introduced a new rupee logo, sparking controversy. Chief Minister MK Stalin had earlier released a video showcasing the logo for the 2025-26 budget, in which the national currency symbol (a mix of Devanagari and Roman letters) was replaced with the Tamil alphabet 'Ru.'
Speaking about the alleged TASMAC scam, Tagore criticized the Enforcement Directorate (ED), accusing it of acting on the "ridiculous" statements made by Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai. He also claimed that the ED was taking orders from the BJP headquarters and urged the courts to intervene.
"Whatever Annamalai speaks, ED is giving it in writing on a piece of paper, which is ridiculous. This kind of approach of using ED and CBI should not be allowed. Courts must intervene. ED offices have become compromised offices, which are taking orders from the BJP headquarters. ED is working as an agent of Annamalai," Tagore added.
Meanwhile, Annamalai launched a scathing attack on state minister V Senthil Balaji, labelling him as the "kingpin" who remains involved in "every single scam."
Standing firm on his sources, Annamalai claimed that the TASMAC scam was over a thousand crore rupees while questioning the moral right of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader Balaji to continue in his post as the minister.
"I have my sources. I believe (the corruption) is over a thousand crore (rupees). Senthil Balaji is involved in every single scam. He is the kingpin. Supreme Court has questioned if he has the moral right to stay a Minister," Annamalai told reporters.
Labelling Balaji as the "liquor minister", the BJP leader said that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin restored Balaji as the minister as soon as he was released from jail. The TASMAC scam is bigger than the Delhi liquor scam, Annamalai asserted.
The Chief Minister kept Senthil Balaji's post warm and gave it back to him as soon as he came out of jail. He is in no position to talk about political probity. I call Senthil Balaji, the liquor minister. This scam (TASMAC) is bigger than Chhattisgarh and Delhi (liquor scams)," he added.
His reaction comes following raids by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation Limited (TASMAC) and liquor-supplying companies in the state, after which Balaji denied the charges and stated that the state government would face this legally.
"ED have alleged Rs 1,000 crore corruption without any basis. Before ED, one person made an accusation of a scam worth Rs 1,000 crore, and ED also said the same in their statement. People are aware that there are thousands of meanings behind this. The government will face the ED searches on TASMAC legally," the minister said.
"Everything is transparent as far as TASMAC is concerned. As far as purchase is concerned, it would be done by calculating the average of the last three months of brand purchase. By taking the average of the last three years and the last month's purchase, TASMAC will give them a purchase order. So, we have not shown any discount to anyone on giving purchase orders. Everything is transparent. There is no room for any malpractices in TASMAC, and the government will face ED searches legally," he added.
The minister claimed that there had been no policy changes in TASMAC functioning.
ED, Chennai, conducted search operations at various premises across many districts of Tamil Nadu under the provisions of PMLA, 2002, for various offences related to TASMAC and its associated entities/persons, according to an official statement from the Central agency.
In a post on X, ED said, "ED, Chennai has conducted search operations at various premises across many districts of Tamil Nadu on 06.03.2025 under the provisions of PMLA, 2002, for various offences related to Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation Limited (TASMAC) and its associated entities/persons. During the search operations, various incriminating documents were recovered and seized."