TN govt's removal of rupee symbol from Budget logo undermines national unity, says FM Sitharaman

The Tamil Nadu government's decision to replace the national rupee symbol (₹) with the Tamil letter "ரு" (pronounced "Ru") in the logo for the state's 2025-26 Budget has ignited widespread criticism from various political figures.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman criticized the move, calling it "a completely avoidable example of language and regional chauvinism." She contended that this step is an indication of a mindset that can destroy India's unity and foster secessionist feelings in the name of regional pride. Sitharaman also pointed out the irony that the symbol of the rupee, introduced officially in 2010 when the Congress-led UPA government (in which the DMK was a partner) was in power, had been designed by D. Udaya Kumar, the son of late DMK MLA N. Dharmalingam. She said the DMK by removing the symbol is ignoring the creative input of a Tamil individual.

BJP IT Cell Head Amit Malviya shared the same views, highlighting that the move by Chief Minister Stalin to remove the Indian rupee symbol from the Budget paper insults Tamilians.

AIADMK General Secretary and Opposition Leader Edappadi K. Palaniswami termed the move a publicity stunt to shift attention away from the failure of administration. He blamed Chief Minister Stalin for indulging in "empty advertisement campaigns" which fail to fulfill the people's real needs.

Tamil Nadu BJP President K. Annamalai sought to understand why the rupee symbol was being replaced with the Tamil letter "Ru," given that the original symbol was created by a Tamilian and implemented countrywide.

The furore comes against the backdrop of frequent disagreements between the Centre and the Tamil Nadu government on language policies, with the DMK government alleging imposition of Hindi by the Union government. The elimination of the rupee symbol is viewed as a part of this larger resistance, which has heightened Tamil Nadu's opposition to the National Education Policy.

In justification of its move, the Tamil Nadu government said that the new Budget logo, with the Tamil letter "Ru" from "Rubaai" (the Tamil term for rupee), represents the linguistic identity of the state. The logo also carries the caption "Everything for All," which the DMK says symbolizes its inclusive style of governance.

This is the first time a state has substituted the national currency symbol in its official documents, generating controversies on regional identity vs. national unity.

Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu is to table the state's Budget for 2025-26 today, the fifth Budget of the DMK government since it came to power in 2021.