Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge criticised the BJP and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman after local BJP functionaries on X, released a video of a meeting between the Managing Director of Tamil Nadu’s famous Sree Annapoorna hotel and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The video of the close-door meeting was shared by Tamil Nadu BJP convenor Balaji MS. Balaji wrote that Srinivasan had apologised for an “indecent” speech.
In the video, Srinivasan, who is also the honorary president of Tamil Nadu Hotels Association, can be seen apologising to the FM for his critical comments on GST at a previous event. The video shows Nirmala Sitharaman, Coimbatore South BJP MLA Vanathi Srinivasan and Srinivasan seated in the room. The opposition had alleged that Srinivasan was forced to apologise and the video was made public by the BJP to humiliate him.
Rahul Gandhi criticised the government's treatment of small business owners and spoke of the hardships faced by small business owners under the Modi government. "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. Yet, when a billionaire friend seeks to bend the rules, change the laws, or acquire national assets, Modi Ji rolls out the red carpet," he said.
Rahul said that a simplified GST with a single tax rate would provide much-needed relief to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). “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. 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.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge echoed Rahul Gandhi's sentiments, labelling the incident as another example of the BJP's "arrogance of power." Kharge said that Sitharaman's dismissive response and the “forced apology” demonstrated the government's disregard for genuine concerns from small business owners. BJP Tamil Nadu president K Annamalai had issued an apology for the actions of the functionaries and expressed regret for the unintended breach of privacy.
“The disgraceful humiliation of a small businessman, the owner of Sree Annapoorna restaurant in Coimbatore by the Finance Minister and the BJP, smacks of arrogance of power. She has been a repeated offender in such public interactions. The owner asked a genuine question about Modi Govt's flawed GST and was first met with a condescending laugh by the FM and later forced to apologise to her on camera,” he said, adding that the party was committed to benefit “Modi ji's large crony friends”
On September 11, Nirmala Sitharaman had met with industrialists and hoteliers in Coimbatore. During the meeting, Srinivasan spoke of the hotel industry's frustrations over the complexities of the GST regime, drawing laughter from the audience. His remarks, which criticised the inconsistent application of GST on various items, went viral on social media.