News Tamil Nadu

BJP TN Shoots Itself In The Foot By Posting Video Of Sri Annapoorna Hotel Owner Apologizing To Nirmala Sitharaman

September 13, 2024
The Commune

Hours after the GST meeting video of an interaction between Sri Annapoorna Hotel owner Srinivasan and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman went viral, Bharatiya Janata Party’s Tamil Nadu unit shot itself in the foot by posting a video of the entrepreneur allegedly apologizing to the Minister.

During the meeting, several entrepreneurs from diverse sectors voiced grievances regarding GST rates, loan schemes, and other pressing issues affecting their businesses. One of the key demands was from hoteliers, represented by Srinivasan, the chairman of Sri Annapoorna Hotel, who highlighted the inconsistencies in GST rates. He pointed out that different rates were applied to items on the same bill, causing customer confusion and dissatisfaction.

“There is 5% GST on sweets but 12% on savouries, and 18% on cream-filled buns, whereas there is no GST on buns! Customers often complain, saying, ‘Just give me the bun, I’ll add the cream and jam myself,’” said Srinivasan, leading to laughter from the crowd.

The owner of the Sri Annapoorna Hotel emphasized the need for a uniform GST rate on food items, particularly in Tamil Nadu, where sweet and savoury items are consumed together.

Taking a dig at BJP MLA Vanathi Srinivasan, he said, “So please increase it uniformly for everything. Secondly, this MLA, madam, is from our constituency. She said they are eating too many sweets in the North of India, so the GST has been fixed at 5% and 12% for savouries. I said no. In TN, we call it sweet karma coffee (sweets, savouries, and coffee). So please consider it, madam; please make it uniform.”

Srinivasan further criticized the complexity of the GST system, stating, “The computer crashes when we try to input different GST percentages in a single bill. Even the GST officials are confused, as all items have the same input but different tax rates. This inconsistency is causing issues for both shopkeepers and customers.”

In response, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman acknowledged the entrepreneurs’ concerns, stating that the government was working to simplify the GST system. She assured the attendees that she would bring these concerns to the GST Council, particularly the varying tax rates on food items. Sitharaman highlighted that GST, Customs, Income Tax, MSME, EOB, and Canara Bank officials had come from Delhi to address the grievances of the industrialists. “We will take steps to address each petition given,” she assured, adding that 1,500 outdated industrial laws have already been removed, and 40,000 complaints have been resolved nationwide.

While many thought the entrepreneur’s use of those anecdotes was hilarious, the Tamil Nadu BJP seemed to be in a different world.

Their Social Media Cell State Convenor posted a video late evening on 12 September 2024. In the video, the entrepreneur is seen talking to FM Nirmala Sitharaman in the presence of Coimbatore South MLA Vanathi Srinivasan.

The post read, “Coimbatore Annapoorna Srinivasan today met Union Finance Minister Mrs. @nsitharaman and Coimbatore South Assembly Member Mrs. @VanathiBJP and expressed his regret and apology for the speech he gave in the meeting was wrongly encouraged and his speech was indecent and wrong..!”

This did not sit well with the party’s supporters in Tamil Nadu, who criticized the move. Here are some netizen reactions saying it was bad optics. It seemed as if the entrepreneur was forced to apologize to FM.

Netizens also argued that whether an apology was tendered, it was not necessary to display it to the public as it would send a wrong message and give DMK a chance to deride the party and Nirmala Sitharaman. Here is an example of how Union FM Nirmala Sitharaman’s caste got dragged into the issue.

Some supporters of Congress/DMK/ADMK even called it an arm-twisting tactic against Sri Annapoorna hotel owner Srinivasan!

Subscribe to our Telegram, WhatsApp, and Instagram channels and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.