Irony in DMK's Decision: Party that helped create ₹ symbol replaces it. All you need it know

Indian Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is the latest to slam Tamil Nadu's ruling DMK party for replacing the Indian rupee symbol with a Tamil letter in its logo for state budget 2025-26. While the party has sought to stoutly defend its decision, ironically, the rupee symbol (₹) has old ties to the DMK party.

The controversy comes when the Tamil Nadu Government and the Centre are at odds over language policies. The replaced rupee symbol (₹) from the state budget's official logo with the Tamil alphabet 'Roo' ('ரூ') represents 'Roobai,' the Tamil word for rupee.

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DMK andupee symbol connect

Slamming DMK's decision, Sitharaman said that it was "a completely avoidable example of language and regional chauvinism" and argued that the removal undermines national unity and fosters divisive sentiments.

She then pointed out the irony in DMK's stance, noting that the symbol was officially adopted in 2010 under the Congress-led UPA government—in which the DMK was a coalition partner—and the fact that the symbol was designed by the son of a former DMK MLA.

The Finance Minister highlighted that Udaya Kumar Dharmalingam or D. Udaya Kumar, the son of former DMK MLA N. Dharmalingam designed the ₹ symbol.

"By erasing it now, the DMK is not only rejecting a national symbol but also disregarding the creative contribution of a Tamil youth," remarked Sitharaman.

Man behind ₹ symbol refuses to be drawn into controversy

D. Udaya Kumar, who designed the Devanagari rupee (₹) sign, told PTI that he doesn't have any reaction to DMK replacing the symbol.

"I don't have any reaction. It's the government which suddenly felt that there was a need for a change, and they wanted to implement their own script. This is up to the state government. So, I don't have anything to say about that. It's entirely up to the government," he said.

Kumar, an IIT Guwahati professor, said that his connection to the DMK was purely coincidental.

"My father was an MLA even before I was born. Now, he is old and living in our village, leading his life peacefully. It just happened to be a coincidence, probably I could have been somebody else as well," he said, adding "It's just that he happened to be a DMK MLA and the DMK government changed the design."

"I do not see anything else beyond it as a pure coincidence which has happened," he noted.

(With inputs from agencies)