Tamil Symbols vs National Currency: A Political Showdown

DMK MLA Ezhilan Naganathan criticizes BJP over its backlash against the Tamil Nadu government's decision to replace the Rupee symbol with a Tamil character in the 2025-26 state budget. This comes amid ongoing tensions between state and central authorities regarding language policies in India.

In a fresh political skirmish, DMK MLA Ezhilan Naganathan rebuffed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for its criticism over Tamil Nadu government's maneuver to replace the Rupee symbol with a Tamil character on the 2025-26 state budget.

Naganathan accused the BJP of seizing any opportunity to incite the populace against the DMK, asserting that the use of native languages aligns with existing Union government principles. He added that the budget clearly showed the use of 'Ru,' the Tamil script for Rupee, emphasizing a commitment to indigenous language use.

The controversy was sparked by comments from BJP's Tamil Nadu Chief, K Annamalai, who called the move "stupid," pointing to the designer of the Rupee symbol, a Tamilian, as a contradiction to DMK's decision. This disagreement occurs against the backdrop of ongoing disputes between Tamil Nadu and the central government over language policies as dictated by the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.