Chennai:

Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman today hit back at Tamil Nadu’s ruling DMK over its move to replace the rupee symbol with the with a Tamil letter (Ru), declaring that it “promotes secessionist sentiments”.  “Tamil Nadu govt’s move to replace rupee symbol signals a dangerous mindset that weakens Indian unity,” Ms Sitharaman said.

The state had replaced the rupee symbol (Re) in promotional material for the 2025/26 state budget which will be presented Friday morning, making a point amid the blazing row over the language policy.

Since morning, it had drawn massive political backlash from the BJP. 
State BJP chief K Annamalai, pointing out that rupee symbol accepted by the nation has been drawn dram by the son of a former DMK MLA, tagged the state’s ruling party “Stupid”.

“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?” he posted on X, formerly Twitter.