In its budget for 2025–2026, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin defended the state’s choice to substitute the Tamil letter “ru” for the official rupee symbol, pointing out that Nirmala Sitharaman herself had previously used the Tamil letter “Ru” (rubai in Tamil) in place of the English letter “Re.”
“Interestingly, Nirmala Sitharaman herself has used ” instead of ” in English,” Stalin stated. He went on to say that the action demonstrated the state’s dedication to advancing Tamil. “To demonstrate our unwavering stance on the language issue, we introduced the Tamil Ru symbol,” Stalin stated. Those who opposed Tamil were criticized by him and making the move “a major controversy.”
The state had “hundreds of requests to the Union Finance Minister for funds for salaries and education,” but Stalin claimed that the state had not heard back. He pointed out that there is no controversy with the ‘Rs’ being used in place of ‘Re’ in English publications.
The decision by the DMK government “promoted secessionist sentiments under the pretence of regional pride,” according to Sitharaman, who then blasted it. The Finance Minister claimed in her post on X that the replacement of the rupee sign was an inevitable instance of linguistic and regional chauvinism and indicated a hazardous mindset.
Stalin posted a teaser for the state budget on X earlier this month. “To ensure the widespread development of Tamil Nadu to benefit all sections of society…” he wrote, using the hashtags ‘Dravidian Model’ and ‘TNBudget2025.’ The budget logo was missing the official rupee symbol, which is inspired by the Hindi letter for ‘R.’
The rupee sign was utilized in Tamil Nadu’s logos in earlier budgets. The insignia, created by an IIT-Guwahati professor and the son of a DMK leader, was prominently displayed in the 2023–24 budget. With this year’s ruling, a state has rejected the national currency symbol for the first time.
A Saravanan, a DMK spokesperson, has previously stated that the action was intended to promote Tamil rather than to reject the currency symbol. “It was an attempt to showcase the Tamil letter ‘ru’,” Saravanan explained.
