Chennai: The DMK government in Tamil Nadu on Thursday unveiled the logo for its 2025-26 budget, replacing the Indian rupee symbol with Tamil letter ‘ru’ — a move that has drawn sharp criticism from the state BJP.

Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu is set to present the budget for 2025-26 on Friday. The logo features 'ru,' the first letter of the Tamil word Rubaai, which denotes the Indian currency in the Tamil language. It also carries the caption "everything for all," reflecting what the ruling DMK describes as its inclusive model of governance.

Chief Minister MK Stalin also posted on X, a small teaser featuring the logo ahead of the budget on March 14. "To ensure the widespread development of Tamil Nadu to benefit all sections of society…#DravidianModel #TNBudget2025" he said in a post.

BJP Tamil Nadu chief K Annamalai criticised the change, calling it an insult to the rupee symbol, which was designed by Tamilian D Udaya Kumar.

"The DMK government’s state budget for 2025-26 replaces the rupee symbol designed by a Tamilian and adopted by the whole of Bharat. Thiru Udaya Kumar, who designed the symbol, is the son of a former DMK MLA. How stupid can you become, Thiru @mkstalin?" Annamalai said in a social media post.

He also shared the logo of the 2024-25 Tamil Nadu budget, which featured the Indian rupee symbol. The Indian rupee symbol (₹) was officially adopted on July 15, 2010. It combines elements of the Devanagari letter 'र' (ra) and the Latin capital letter 'R' with the vertical bar.

The development comes amid ongoing tensions between the Centre and Tamil Nadu over language, with the state accusing the Union government of imposing Hindi — a charge the Centre has denied.

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