‘Secessionist feelings’: FM Sitharaman hits DMK after Tamil Nadu leaves a symbol of budget rupees

Last update:March 13, 2025, 22:50 IST

Nirmla Sitharaman criticized the government of Tamil Nadu for replacing the symbol of the rupee in his budget document and said that the step promotes “secessionist feelings under the pretext of regional pride.”

Nirmala Sitharaman hits Dmk on the row of rupee symbols (PTI image)

Launching a scathing attack against the government of Tamil Nadu for replacing the ₹ symbol with a tamil ‘Ru’ word in her budget document, the Minister of Finance of the Union, Nirmala Sitharaman, said Thursday that the measure points to a “dangerous mentality that weakens the national unity.”

The minister said that the passage of the MK Stalin government continues to promote “secessionist feelings under the pretext of regional pride.”

His comments arrived after The Stalin government eliminated the ₹ symbol of the budget document And he replaced it with RU, causing a massive row and drawing a violent reaction of the BJP. The last step followed the days of debate of language between the South State and the Center on the National Education Policy.

Sitharaman faces Tamil Nadu Govt

Taking the Government of Stalin in front, the minister of the Union said that by eliminating the officially recognized rupee symbol, which was designed by Udaya KumarA tamil, the DMK has “without taking into account the creative contribution of a Tamil Youth.”

“If the DMK (@arivalayam) has a problem with ‘₹’, why didn’t he protect in 2010 when he was officially adopted under the UPA government led by @incindia, at a time when the DMK was part of the false alliance in the center?” Sitharaman.

“Ironically, ‘₹’ was designed by Th. D uudaya Kumar, son of former DMK MLA N. Dharmalingam. When erase now, the DMK is not only rejecting a national symbol, but also completely ignores the creative contribution of a Tamil youth,” he added.

He highlighted the deep roots of the word Tamil ‘Rupaai’ in the Sanskrit word ‘Rupya’ and said that several countries use ‘Rupia’ as their currency name.

“The word tamil ‘Rupaai’ (ரூபாய்) in itself has deep roots in the Sanskrit word ‘Rupy Maldivas, Mauricio, Nepal, Seychelles and Sri Lanka, officially use ‘Rupia’ or their ‘equivalent/derivatives’ as their currency name, “wrote the minister.

‘Bet to weaken national unity’: Sitharaman

The Minister of the Union recalled the constitutional oath for public representatives and said that the decision of the government of Tamil Nadu to replace the symbol of ₹ “goes against the oath.”

“All elected representatives and authorities swore under the Constitution to defend the sovereignty and integrity of our nation. Eliminating a national symbol such as ‘₹’ of state budget documents goes against that oath, weakening the commitment to national unity, “he said.

“This is more than a mere symbolism: it points out a dangerous mentality that weakens the Indian unity and promotes secessionist feelings under the pretext of regional pride. A completely avoidable example of regional language and chauvinism, “added the minister.