Rupee logo change: DMK defends move; Oppn calls it a 'ploy to divert public attention'

The ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu defended the state government's move to replace the rupee symbol with Tamil letter 'Ru' on the budget document while the opposition AIADMK and the BJP termed it as a 'ploy' to divert public attention.

The DMK maintained that there was nothing wrong with using the native language, and said no rule barred the government from such a move.

Chief Minister M.K. Stalin released the new logo in a post on X. Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu will present the budget in the state assembly on Friday.

The logo carried 'Ru'—the first letter of the Tamil word 'Rubaai' which denotes the Indian currency in the vernacular language.

The move comes amid a raging showdown between the state and central governments over the three-language policy proposed in the National Education Policy (NEP).

READ: Tamil pride or political gimmick? TN CM Stalin ditching rupee symbol in budget logo set to escalate language row

Tamil Nadu BJP chief K. Annamalai slammed the move and sought remind the chief minister that it was the son of a former DMK MLA who designed the rupee symbol (₹).

"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. Thiru Udhay Kumar, who designed the symbol, is the son of a former DMK MLA.  How stupid can you become, Thiru @mkstalin?," he said in a post on X.

Former BJP state unit chief Tamilisai Soundararajan also upbraided the state government's move, saying the ruling party was against national integrity and national unity.

"We feel very sorry for the attitude of the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister (Stalin) and the Tamil Nadu government," she told PTI Videos.

 She asked why the change has been effected after so long and if they have "become Tamil now".

The AIADMK alleged that the state government was enacting drama to divert public attention ahead of the budget to be presented on Friday.

"This is nothing but an opportunistic government, which wants to change the symbol. What will people expect from the budget tomorrow other than a reduction in the prices of milk and other essential commodities, a cut in property tax and power tariff, and other measures to reduce their burden," senior AIADMK leader and former minister D. Jayakumar said.

AIADMK spokesperson Kovai Sathyan termed the government's move as the culmination of all the "drama and theatrics" that the chief minister has shown in the last four years.

'Nothing unlawful'

The DMK defended the move saying there was nothing unlawful in what the government had done.

"No law opposed or stopped using Ru in Tamil. Then why such anger?," DMK spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai said.

DMK MLA Ezhilan Naganathan justified the move, saying there was nothing wrong in using the mother tongue.

"Using the mother tongue for all purposes is the theme of any Union Government principles that they have set. So, it is falling on those lines," Exhilan told reporters.

The Indian rupee symbol, adopted on July 15, 2010, was designed by a Tamilian, D. Udayakumar, when he participated in a competition conducted by the Centre on March 5, 2009.