Tamil Nadu drops rupee symbol from budget, escalating three-language row
India news | Trending | This comes amid the MK Stalin-led government’s opposition against the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the three-language policy.
The Tamil Nadu government has dropped the national rupee symbol, replacing it with the Tamil letter ‘Ru’ in the state budget logo, escalating the ongoing three-language controversy.
This comes amid the MK Stalin-led government’s opposition against the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the three-language policy. It is perhaps the first time the national currency symbol was dropped by a state.
The Tamil Nadu budget for 2025-26 is scheduled to be tabled by the state’s finance minister Thangam Thennarasu on Friday (Mar 14).
The logo had ‘ru’, the first letter of the Tamil word ‘Rubaai’, the vernacular word for the Indian currency. The caption accompanying the logo, “everything for all,” indicated the inclusive model of governance in the state, which the ruling party DMK has been claiming.
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BJP Tamil Nadu chief K Annamalai slammed the move on the micro-blogging site X.
“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,” he wrote.
“Thiru Udhay Kumar, who designed the symbol, is the son of a former DMK MLA. How stupid can you become, Thiru @mkstalin?,” Annamalai further wrote..
Also read | 'Must know Hindi to buy tea...': MK Stalin's latest jibe on BJP's third-language formula under NEP
He also shared the logos of the current and the 2024-25 Tamil Nadu budget, which had the Indian rupee symbol.
The state government has not yet issued any official statement regarding the logo change.
Also read | Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin accuses Hindi of erasing regional languages, slams opposition for 'Hindi imposition'
But a BJP spokesperson told NDTV that the move by the DMK government reflects the party’s stance of being “different from India.
DMK opposes NEP and three-language policy
The Tamil Nadu government has refused to implement key aspects of the National Education Policy 2020, particularly the three-language formula. Following this, the Centre withheld the Rs 573 crore central education assistance under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) to the state.
The policy mandates the state to comply with NEP guidelines to receive SSA funding, 60 per cent of which is provided by the Centre to states. Under the PM SHRI scheme, the state concerned must sign an MoU with the central government, stating that it would implement the NEP 2020 and in exchange for the funds provided by the Centre.
(With inputs from agencies)
