Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman criticised Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin for replacing the official rupee symbol (₹) with the Tamil letter "Ru" (denoting "rubai" in Tamil) in the state’s budget document. She accused the DMK government of promoting “secessionist sentiments under the pretense of regional pride” and engaging in “language and regional chauvinism.” Her remarks come amid a growing dispute between the Union and the Tamil Nadu government over the National Education Policy’s (NEP) three-language formula.
Tamil Nadu’s 2025-26 budget logo, unveiled on Thursday, March 13, replaced the rupee symbol with the Tamil letter "Ru" in an assertion of Tamil identity. The move sparked a heated political debate, with FM Nirmala questioning why the DMK had not protested when the rupee symbol was officially adopted in 2010 during the UPA government, when the DMK was part of the ruling coalition.
“The DMK government has reportedly removed the official rupee symbol ‘₹’ from the Tamil Nadu Budget 2025-26 documents, which will be presented tomorrow. If the DMK has a problem with ‘₹’, why didn’t it protest back in 2010 when it was officially adopted under the UPA-led government?” she wrote on X. She pointed out the irony of the DMK’s stance, stating that the rupee symbol was designed by Tamil Nadu’s own Th D Udaya Kumar, the son of former DMK MLA N Dharmalingam.
The Minister further argued that the Tamil word for rupee, "Rubaai," has linguistic roots in Sanskrit, tracing back to “Rupya,” meaning "wrought silver" or "a worked silver coin.” She noted that several countries, including Sri Lanka, Nepal, Indonesia, and Mauritius, use "Rupee" or its derivatives as their official currency name. “At a time when India is pushing for cross-border payments using UPI, should we really be undermining our own national currency symbol?” she questioned.
“All elected representatives and authorities are sworn under the Constitution to uphold the sovereignty and integrity of our nation. Removing a national symbol like ‘₹’ from the state budget documents goes against that very oath, weakening the commitment to national unity.” She described the change as an unnecessary controversy that “signals a dangerous mindset that weakens Indian unity,” Nirmala added.
The rupee symbol controversy has become part of the larger ideological rift between the Union and Tamil Nadu’s DMK government, which has been vocal against Hindi imposition. The state has consistently opposed the three-language formula under the NEP and has maintained its decades-old policy of teaching only Tamil and English in schools. The ruling DMK and other major political parties in Tamil Nadu, barring the BJP, have alleged that the Union is attempting to impose Hindi on the state through education policies.
Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu is set to present the state budget on Friday, with the rupee symbol issue expected to be a focal point in the ongoing debate between the state and the Union government.