Hitting back at the DMK for replacing the rupee symbol in promotional material for the Tamil Nadu budget with the Tamil letter 'Ru', BJP state President K Annamalai has said the party is so "stupid" that it doesn't realise that the symbol was designed by the son of its former MLA.
The DMK, which is led by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, has countered this by saying that it is not against the rupee sign but is seeking to promote and prioritise the Tamil language.
D Udaya Kumar, who has a Master's in Visual Communication as well as a PhD from the Industrial Design Centre of IIT Bombay, won a national contest in 2009 to design the symbol for the rupee, which was adopted in 2010. Mr Kumar had said at the time that he used a mix of Devanagari 'Ra' for rupiah and the Roman 'R' and blended them to arrive at the symbol to ensure it has a universal appeal while staying true to Indian traditions and culture. The Devanagiri script is used to write Sanskrit, Hindi, Prakrit, Marathi, Konkani and Nepali.
Mr Kumar is the son of a former DMK MLA, N Dharmalingam, and Mr Annamalai has used this to attack the party, claiming that it is disrespecting Tamils through its action.
In a post on X, Mr Annamalai wrote, "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?"
Speaking to NDTV, Mr Annamalai reiterated this point and said that while the Tamil letter 'Ru' is used by many Tamils, including him, while writing in the language, it cannot be used as a replacement for the rupee symbol, which is nationally accepted.
"I will give you the context behind this. The Tamil word (sic) 'Ru' is used by us to mention a value. For instance, we write Ru (Rupaai) 5,000. Only then does 'Ru' get significance. It is not a symbol on its own, it is a Tamil letter. What the DMK government has done is it wants to replace the rupee symbol with 'Ru', which I think is nonsensical and highly condemnable," he said.
"Because the current symbol (for rupee) is accepted by all of Bharat because a lot of people participated based on a design contest. The symbol was designed by a Tamilian, Shri Udaya Kumar, whose father happens to be a DMK MLA from 1971. The DMK does not even know this, that is the funny part, it is the worst part... There is nothing wrong with writing 'Ru', but you can't replace a symbol with a word," the state BJP chief added.
'Language War'
Mr Annamalai also alleged that the DMK government's decision is driven by its desire to take the "language war" with the Centre to "all extent".
The Tamil Nadu government and the Centre have been at loggerheads over the National Education Policy, which the DMK claims seeks to impose Hindi on the state by making learning three languages compulsory against the two-language policy - Tamil and English - which is currently followed there. The Centre has countered this by saying that learning three languages will benefit those who want to live and work in other states and that the NEP does not force anyone to pick Hindi as one of the three languages.
Asked about this, Mr Annamalai said the DMK government's grievance is an "artificial" one and pointed out that his signature campaign in support of the three-language policy has crossed 14 lakh.
"There is huge support in the rural areas. People want to learn a third language. So, the DMK is fighting a losing war. Then they shifted to the artificial bogey of "delimitation" and said Tamil Nadu is going to lose (Lok Sabha seats). They are trying to make a play that the southern part of India is different from the northern part of India. I am sure they will learn a terrible lesson," he warned.
The DMK, on the other hand, has maintained that the use of 'Ru' is a means of prioritising Tamil.
"There is nothing illegal about it... this is not a 'showdown'. We prioritise Tamil, that is why the government went ahead with this," DMK leader Saravanan Annadurai said.
