DMK demands withdrawal of Devanagari numerals on new Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes

DMK on Wednesday condemned the use of ‘Devanagari’ numerals on the new 500 and 2000 rupee notes as unconstitutional and sought its withdrawal, saying international numerals should be used as was done in other currency notes.

Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Tiruchi Siva (DMK) said new currency notes have Devanagari numerals printed on them in contravention of the Constitution.

Citing provisions of the Constitution, he said only international numerals can be used on currency notes.

Using Devanagari on currency notes can be done only after the passage of a law in Parliament, which has not been done in the present case, Siva said.

Preference to Hindi-speaking groups will alienate non-Hindi speaking people, he said.

Siva said he condemns the move and demanded that international numerals be used on the new notes.