New Delhi (TIP)- The MK Stalin government has replaced the rupee symbol with the Tamil letter for ‘Ru’ in the state budget logo, amid the ongoing three-language controversy. This is perhaps the first time any state has dropped the national currency symbol. The development comes in the context of the MK Stalin-led Tamil Nadu government’s opposition to the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the three-language policy.
Tamil Nadu finance minister Thangam Thennarasu is scheduled to table the budget for 2025-26 on Friday. The logo carried ‘ru’, the first letter of the Tamil word ‘Rubaai’, which denotes the Indian currency in the vernacular language.
The logo also had the caption “everything for all”, indicating at what the ruling DMK claims is its inclusive model of governance.
The move was slammed by BJP Tamil Nadu chief K Annamalai.
“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?,” Annamalai said in a social media post. He also shared the logo of the 2024-25 Tamil Nadu budget that had the Indian rupee symbol.
The Tamil Nadu government has not yet issued any official statement regarding this change. However, a BJP spokesperson told NDTV that the move reflects the Tamil party’s stance of being “different from India.” Narayanan Thirupathy of the BJP added that the rupee symbol is widely recognized as a symbol of India.
Tamil Nadu’s refusal to implement key aspects of the National Education Policy 2020, particularly the three-language formula, has resulted in the Centre withholding ?573 crore in central education assistance under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA).
According to policy rules, states must comply with NEP guidelines to receive SSA funding, of which 60 per cent is provided by the Centre to states like Tamil Nadu.
Under the PM SHRI scheme, the state concerned has to sign an MoU with the central government that it would implement the NEP 2020 and in return the Centre provides funds.
Amid controversy over Tamil Nadu’s omission of the official Rupee symbol on its state budget document, IIT Guwahati professor, Udaya Kumar Dharmalingam, the icon’s designer said he never expected such a controversy after so many years.
Dharmalingam designed the Indian rupee symbol in 2010. It was chosen from among 3,300 entries in a nationwide competition. The design, which combines the Devanagari letter “Ra” and the Roman letter “R,” has become an integral part of India’s currency and identity.
The professor said he did not have complete information about the controversy and expressed surprise over the debate surrounding the change. He also suggested that the DMK-ruled state might have had its reasons. Source: HT