Tamil Nadu Government Replaces Rupee Symbol In Budget Logo; Sparks Political Row

The Tamil Nadu government, led by Chief Minister MK Stalin, has replaced the Indian Rupee symbol (₹) with the Tamil alphabet ‘Ru’ in the state Budget logo, intensifying the ongoing language dispute between the State and the Centre.

The previous Budget logo for 2024-25 featured the official Rupee symbol, but the newly unveiled logo for the 2025-26 Budget, likely to present on 14 March, has swapped it for a Tamil character.

CM Stalin released a video on Thursday showcasing the updated logo.

The move comes amid Tamil Nadu’s opposition to the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, particularly its three-language formula, which the state government sees as an attempt to impose Hindi.

BJP’s Tamil Nadu Chief, K Annamalai, strongly criticized the decision, calling it ‘stupid’. He highlighted that a Tamilian, Udhay Kumar, designed the Rupee symbol and is the son of a former DMK MLA.

“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?” K Annamalai noted.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, CM Stalin renewed his attack on the Centre, calling the NEP a ‘saffronised policy’ aimed at promoting Hindi rather than strengthening education in India.

He alleged that the policy could weaken Tamil Nadu’s education system.

At a public event in Tiruvallur, CM Stalin asserted, “National Education Policy is not education policy, it is saffronise policy. The policy was not created to develop India but to develop Hindi. We are opposing the Policy as that would destroy the Tamil Nadu education system completely.”

He further accused the Centre of withholding funds to pressure the state into implementing the policy.

“We are asking for your tax share, which we paid with our efforts. What is the problem with this? Is it fair to threaten without releasing funds for the welfare of 43 lakh schools? As we didn’t accept NEP, they are refusing to release funds that belong to Tamil Nadu. We would have welcomed the scheme if it brought everyone into education. But is NEP like that? NEP has all the factors that remove people from education. This is how this policy is, and that’s why we are opposing it,” he noted.

At the center of the dispute is the NEP’s three-language formula, which Tamil Nadu fears will undermine the prominence of Tamil and impose Hindi on the state.

CM Stalin maintains that the policy threatens linguistic diversity and disregards the state’s autonomy.

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