Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has strongly criticised the Tamil Nadu government’s decision to replace the 2025-26 rupee symbol with Tamil characters in the budget logo, explaining the move as a sign of a dangerous way of thinking that undermines India’s unity.
The new logo of the state government, released on Thursday, featured the first letter “Ru,” in the Tamil word “rubaai,” referring to the local language Indian currency.
Sitharaman called on the Dravidha Munnetra Kazhagam party to take that stance in X’s post that the party should express its opposition when the rupee symbol was officially adopted by the United Progressive Alliance government in 2010.
“Ironically, ‘£’ was designed by Udaya Kumar, the son of former DMK Mla n Dharmalingam. By erasing it now, DMK not only rejects the symbol of the nation, but completely ignores the creative contributions of the Tamil youth.
The Minister of Finance further said the issue goes beyond symbolism. “It shows a dangerous way of thinking that weakens India’s unity and promotes separatist sentiment under the pretense of local pride,” Sitharaman said. She also called it “a completely avoidable example of language and regional chowinism.”
In defense, the DMK-led government in Tamil Nadu has argued that there is no problem with using the native language in the state’s budget documents. The 2025-26 budget will be presented on Friday in Tamil Nadu Assembly.
Sitharaman further stated that the rupee symbol “£” is internationally recognized and plays an important role in promoting India’s identity in global financial transactions. “When India uses UPI to promote cross-border payments, should we really undermine the symbol of our own country’s currency?” she asked.
“All elected representatives and authorities are pledged under the Constitution to support the sovereignty and integrity of our country,” she said. “Removing national symbols like £” from state budget documents, contrary to that oath, undermines the commitment to national unity. ”
