Taking the confrontation with the BJP-led Union government on the imposition of Hindi and National Education Policy to another level, the DMK government of MK Stalin has decided to axe the official rupee symbol ₹ in the state Budget and replace it with its own logo, ‘ru’ for rupee in Tamil script, used since the British era.

After releasing the first-ever economic survey for the state, Chief Minister MK Stalin, in a social media post, displayed the change in the logo. Significantly, this is the first time that a state government rejected the national currency symbol as a mark of protest. Tamil Nadu uses this against the NEP and its three-language policy.

Advertisement

This change comes ahead of the 2025 budget presentation by Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu on Friday morning when the Assembly convenes for the Budget Session.

The new logo, ‘ru’, also has the caption “ellorukkum ellam” (Everything for everyone), highlighting the DMK’s claim to inclusive government – Dravidian Model of Governance. The government opting for a new symbol instead of the official one has come as a bolt from the blue and has sparked off a political storm with the BJP criticising the move as parochial.

Interestingly, the present official symbol was designed by D Udhaya Kumar, son of a former DMK legislator, Dharmalingam. He had won the design competition announced by the Union government and it was officially adopted on July 15, 2010. His design which was accepted incorporates both the Devanagari ‘₹’ and the Latin script ‘R’, combining the two. The parallel lines are indicative of the national tricolour as well as equality.

BJP State President K Annamalai, in a ‘X’ post slammed the DMK government for replacing the official rupee symbol designed by a Tamilian and incorporated into our currency. “Thiru Udhay Kumar, who designed the symbol, is the son of a former DMK MLA. How stupid you can become @mkstalin,” he asked. BJP veteran and former Telangana governor Tamilisai Soundararajan also ridiculed the DMK government’s decision to guillotine the official symbol.

Defending the DMK government’s move, TNCC President K Selvaperunthagai said, “Tamil Nadu’s stand on the language policy is being understood by other states and this is the time to declare aloud what the state rightly feels. In 2010, when the rupee symbol was adopted, there was no coercion to impose any language. But the present situation demands resistance.”