Amid its ongoing dispute with the Union government over the National Education Policy (NEP) and the three-language policy, the Tamil Nadu government has unveiled the front cover of the state’s budget documents, featuring the rupee symbol in Tamil rather than the official Devanagari-based symbol. Chief Minister MK Stalin also released a short video ahead of the budget, titled ‘Everything for Everyone’. The CM stated that the 2025-26 state budget aims to “ensure the growth of people from all backgrounds and the development of Tamil Nadu.”
The Tamil Nadu Budget is set to be presented in the Assembly on March 14 by State Finance Minister Thangam Thenarasu. The budget is already under close scrutiny, with Assembly elections looming in 2026. This will be the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s (DMK) last budget of their current tenure before facing the polls.
The rupee symbol was introduced in 2010 by the Union government and is described as an “amalgam of the Devanagari ‘Ra’ and the Roman capital ‘R’, with two parallel horizontal stripes running at the top representing the national flag and also the equal sign.” The use of the Tamil ரூ (‘Ru’) instead of the ₹ will be seen in the context of the standoff with the Union government over the three-language policy, which is viewed as an indirect attempt to impose Hindi on the state.
As the war of words over the NEP and Hindi imposition intensifies daily between the Union and state governments, pushback has emerged even from parties not aligned with the DMK. These include the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) former ally and chief opposition party in the state, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), and actor Vijay’s Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK).
The DMK government is also set to host a Joint Action Committee (JAC) meeting of leaders from various southern states and Odisha on March 22 to oppose the Union government’s proposed delimitation of Lok Sabha constituencies. Earlier this week, delegations from the DMK held high-level meetings with Karnataka CM Siddaramiah and former Andhra Pradesh and Odisha CMs Jagan Mohan Reddy and Naveen Patnaik, inviting them to the JAC meeting. DMK deputy general secretary Kanimozhi K and Tamil Nadu Cabinet minister KN Nehru also met with Telangana CM Revanth Reddy on March 13.
Siddaramaiah, Revanth, and Patnaik are expected to attend the JAC meet on March 22, according to reports.