Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has reignited the language debate by removing the official rupee symbol from the Tamil Nadu State Budget 2025-26 logo, replacing it with the Tamil letter for ‘ru’ from ‘rubai’ (rupees in Tamil).
The move, seen as part of Tamil Nadu’s resistance against Hindi imposition, has sparked backlash from the BJP, with party leaders calling it an insult to Tamil identity and national unity.
MK Stalin Announces Budget Without Rupee Symbol
On social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Stalin shared a teaser for the upcoming Tamil Nadu Budget 2025-26, set to be presented on March 14 in the state assembly. His post emphasized the Dravidian Model of governance and included hashtags DravidianModel and TNBudget2025. However, what caught attention was the absence of the official rupee symbol in the budget’s logo, which had featured prominently in previous years.
சமூகத்தின் அனைத்துத் தரப்பினரும் பயன்பெறும் வகையில் தமிழ்நாட்டின் பரவலான வளர்ச்சியை உறுதி செய்திட…#DravidianModel #TNBudget2025 pic.twitter.com/83ZBFUdKZC
— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) March 13, 2025
The rupee symbol, inspired by the Devanagari letter ‘Ra’, was adopted as India’s official currency symbol in 2010. The symbol was designed by Udaya Kumar, a Tamilian and the son of a former DMK MLA, raising further political controversy.
Political Reactions: BJP Calls the Move ‘Stupid and Ridiculous’
Tamil Nadu’s decision to drop the national currency symbol for the first time in any Indian state budget has drawn sharp criticism from the BJP.
BJP Tamil Nadu President K Annamalai lashed out at Stalin, questioning the logic behind the move.
“The DMK government’s State Budget for 2025-26 replaces the rupee symbol designed by a Tamilian, which was adopted by the whole of Bharat and incorporated into our currency. How stupid can you become, Mr. MK Stalin?”
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Amit Malviya, head of BJP’s IT Cell, also slammed Stalin for allegedly insulting Tamil identity.
“Udaya Kumar Dharmalingam, son of a former DMK MLA, designed the Indian rupee sign, which was accepted by Bharat. Chief Minister MK Stalin is insulting Tamilians by dropping the sign from the Tamil Nadu Budget 2025-26 document. Just how ridiculous can one get?”
Tamil Nadu’s Ongoing Stand Against Hindi Imposition
The Stalin-led DMK government has consistently opposed the National Education Policy (NEP) and the three-language formula, citing concerns of Hindi imposition on non-Hindi-speaking states. The removal of the rupee symbol is being seen as another step in asserting Tamil linguistic and cultural identity.
In previous state budgets (2023-24 and 2024-25), the official rupee symbol was prominently featured in the budget logos, making this change a significant departure from past traditions.
