Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday made a reference to Harappan-era seals in her Budget speech, claiming one of them contained the word “sreni”. Social media users soon pointed out that the Harappan script had not yet been deciphered.

Trade and commerce have existed in India since the Harappan civilisation, Sitharaman said in her speech to drive home the point how entrepreneurship has always been there in the country. She referred to the Indus Valley Civilisation as the “Saraswati Sindhu Civilisation”, and claimed that the word “Sreni [guilds]” was written on a Harappan seal.

The Indus Valley Civilisation, or the Harappan Civilisation, is believed to have existed around 2000 BCE.

Mocking the gaffe, some Twitter users asked if the finance minister has been able to decipher the Harappan script, while a few other users called out the government’s ignorance. Here are a few reactions:

Has Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman ji deciphered the Harappan script? — Manimugdha Sharma (@quizzicalguy) February 1, 2020

It's not a ministry of finance budget guys. It's a history of finance budget. — Rishi Majumder (@RishiMajumder) February 1, 2020

Modi government declares its historical ignorance. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman declares that Harappa hieroglyphs have been deciphered. Wonderful bit of fake news. — Parsa V Rao Jr (@ParsaJr) February 1, 2020

FM is speaking about the meaning of Harappa Civilization's hieroglyphs and how they refer to economy and trade. But, the Harappan Script has not been deciphered yet despite a century of continuous and excruciating efforts. Am I missing something here? 😲#NirmalaSitharaman — Siddharth (@SiddharthSapien) February 1, 2020

"Saraswati Sindhu Civilisation" now being discussed. At least we know we won't steal a quote for #Budget2020 speech from those poor chaps. But apparently we know the word "Sethi" was written on an IVC seal? Is that true? Or Whatsapp U? — Mihir Sharma (@mihirssharma) February 1, 2020

Harappa is both in the past and in Pakistan so naturally a top priority. https://t.co/4VK4oCM7xO — Samit Basu (@samitbasu) February 1, 2020

Twitter,

Have the Harappan hieroglyphics been deciphered? Any part of it? — Chetan Bhattacharji (@CBhattacharji) February 1, 2020