Coimbatore: Two videos involving a restaurant chain owner and Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman over former's remark on GST followed by his apology have stoked a controversy. The Opposition has latched on to the ruling BJP of being 'arrogant' and of forcing an apology from a small business owner, while rolling out red carpet for billionaire friends.
In the first video, Sri Annapoorna restaurant owner Srinivasan is seen raising concerns over the alleged disparity in GST ratios at an interactive session with entrepreneurs. In the second video, Srinivasan is seen apologising to Sitharaman for his previous remark.
When the owner of a small business, like Annapoorna restaurant in Coimbatore, asks our public servants for a simplified GST regime, his request is met with arrogance and outright disrespect.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) September 13, 2024
Yet, when a billionaire friend seeks to bend the rules, change the laws, or acquire…
While Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai apologised for sharing the private conversation between Srinivasan and the Union minister, Congress criticised the saffron party for its arrogance and disrespect towards the restaurant owner.
On September 11, Sitharaman participated at an interaction session with entrepreneurs in Coimbatore. Here, Srinivansan had expressed his dissent over disparity in GST ratios and pointed out that there is no GST for bread or bun but one needs to pay 18 per cent GST for jam or cream used in the bun. This video clip went viral on social media.
When journalists questioned Sitharaman during another event in Coimbatore, she replied that the hotelier had expressed his views in a populist way.
On behalf of @BJP4TamilNadu, I sincerely apologise for the actions of our functionaries who shared a private conversation between a respected business owner and our Hon. FM.
— K.Annamalai (@annamalai_k) September 13, 2024
I spoke with Thiru Srinivasan Avl, the esteemed owner of the Annapoorna chain of Restaurants, to express…
However, later Srinivasan met Sitharaman and BJP women wing president Vanathi Srinivasan in a hotel in Coimbatore, where he apologised for his previous remarks.
At this meeting, Srinivasan said that since he represented the Hotels Association at the session on September 11, he had to place his views accordingly.
In the viral video of this conversation, Srinivasan is seen standing up from his seat and seeking forgiveness with folded hands. Also, he clarified that he does not have affiliations with any political party.
After this video went viral, Karur MP Jothimani condemned on X saying, "It is the duty of a finance minister to listen to an opinion shared by a person who runs a successful business and provides employment to many people, and correct it. But making him apologise and posting the video online is the height of arrogance. It is too disgusting." Jothimani tweeted.
Refuting this, MLA Vanathi Srinivasan said, "Nobody threatened Srinivasan. He contacted us and expressed that he wanted to apologise for the incident."
Slamming the BJP for making the private conversation viral, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi said that when the owner of a small business asks the public servants for a simplified GST regime, his request is met with arrogance and outright disrespect. But, when a billionaire friend seeks to bend the rules, change the laws, or acquire national assets, PM Modi rolls out the red carpet, he said.
"Our small business owners have already endured the blows of demonetisation, an inaccessible banking system, tax extortion and a disastrous GST. The last thing they deserve is further humiliation. But when the fragile egos of those in power are hurt, it seems humiliation is exactly what they’ll deliver," Gandhi tweeted.
"MSMEs have been asking for relief for years. If this arrogant government would listen to the people they would understand that a simplified GST with a single tax rate would solve the problems of lakhs of businesses," he added.
Finally, Annamalai apologised for the viral video, regretting the "unintended breach of privacy."
"On behalf of @BJP4TamilNadu , I sincerely apologise for the actions of our functionaries who shared a private conversation between a respected business owner and our Hon. FM. I spoke with Thiru Srinivasan Avl, the esteemed owner of the Annapoorna chain of restaurants, to express regret for this unintended breach of privacy. Annapoorna Srinivasan Anna is a pillar of Tamil Nadu’s business community, contributing significantly to the state’s and nation’s economic growth. I request everyone to lay the matter to rest with due respect."
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