Chennai, March 13 AIADMK General Secretary and Leader of the Opposition in Tamil Nadu, Edappadi K. Palaniswami, has accused the state government of using its official Budget logo for 2025-26 and the early release of the 2024-25 Economic Survey as a "diversion tactic" to hide its administrative failures.
In a social media post, Palaniswami criticised Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, calling the initiatives mere "publicity stunts".
He also said that the ruling DMK's "empty advertisement campaign" would not address the real needs and aspirations of the people.
He also alleged that CM Stalin was engaging in political gimmicks by delivering scripted dialogues written by others.
Tamil Nadu BJP President K. Annamalai also criticised the state government's move.
In a post on X, he accused the DMK government of removing the Indian Rupee (₹) symbol from the state's 2025-26 Budget logo, replacing it with Tamil script.
He said that the rupee symbol was designed by Thiru Udaya Kumar, a Tamilian and the son of a former DMK MLA.
Mocking the DMK's decision, BJP leader Annamalai questioned CM Stalin's judgment.
He also shared the 2024-25 Budget logo, which had the Indian rupee symbol, highlighting the contrast.
The controversy comes amid an ongoing language dispute between the Tamil Nadu government and the Centre, with the state accusing the Union government of imposing Hindi -- an allegation the Centre has denied.
The DMK-led Tamil Nadu government's decision to remove the rupee symbol from its Budget marks the first time a state has rejected the national currency symbol.
This move is seen as part of the state's broader opposition to the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020.
Tamil Nadu has consistently refused to implement key aspects of the NEP, particularly the three-language formula.
Chief Minister Stalin has also alleged that the Centre withheld Rs 573 crore in education assistance under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) because Tamil Nadu refused to adopt the NEP.
As per policy guidelines, states must comply with NEP provisions to receive SSA funding, with the Centre covering 60 per cent of the allocation for states like Tamil Nadu.
On March 11, Stalin led a statewide protest against both the NEP and the proposed delimitation exercise, calling the latter a threat to South India.
Addressing a public rally, the Chief Minister said, "We oppose NEP because it will completely destroy Tamil Nadu's education system. The policy disregards reservation, which is the foundation of social justice. It denies financial assistance to Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and Other Backward Classes (OBCs)."
The controversy continues to intensify as the state government and opposition leaders clash over the Budget presentation and broader governance issues.
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