NEW DELHI: Udaya Kumar Dharmalingam, the designer of the Indian rupee symbol, has responded to the controversy surrounding the Tamil Nadu government’s decision to replace the symbol with the Tamil letter “Ru” in promotional material for the state budget.

Speaking to ANI, Dharmalingam stated, “I don’t have complete information behind the reasons of this change, probably the state government has their own ways, views, and reasons to make the changes. I designed this 15 years ago when the then Central government floated a competition and I won it, after which they implemented it and it’s being widely used.”
He added that he never anticipated such a debate over the rupee symbol, saying, “I am really happy about being the designer of this symbol, but I never expected such a debate to ever occur. It just somehow took this turn and now there are a lot of concerns going on about the symbol itself.”
BJP Tamil Nadu president K Annamalai sharply criticised the DMK government for replacing the rupee symbol, calling it an attempt to divert public attention from pressing issues. He remarked that the move had made the DMK a subject of ridicule nationwide.
Annamalai further pointed out that the rupee symbol, designed by a Tamilian, Udaya Kumar, had been appreciated by former Tamil Nadu CM M Karunanidhi. He accused the DMK government of wanting to change it solely because of its connection to the Devanagari script.
“It is not only condemnable but also laughable. In 2010, a Tamilian, Udaya Kumar’s design, which was a combination of Latin and Devanagari script, was selected in a national-level design contest. He was appreciated by Kalaignar Karunanidhi – the then Tamil Nadu CM. His son, CM MK Stalin has found fault with it. In 2025, they want to change it because they said that they are against the Devanagari script. His father accepted it and this symbol was given by a Tamilian. I am sure that the DMK fellows did not even know that this was given by a Tamilian and Udaya Kumar also happens to be the son of a former DMK MLA. DMK has become a laughing stock across India. They are doing this to divert attention from other pressing public issues,” Annamalai said.
He also criticised the DMK for focusing on trivial matters rather than addressing real concerns of the Tamil people, questioning how changing a symbol would benefit the community.
“DMK is hell-bent on discussing nonsensical issues. DMK is against Tamil interests, that is why they want to go against the design that was given by a Tamil person. How will changing a symbol benefit all sections of Tamil society?” he asked.