Businessman’s apology to Nirmala Sitharaman for GST criticism sparks political storm

A video of a prominent restaurateur from Tamil Nadu apologising to Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman for his complaints about the Goods and Services Tax at a public event in Coimbatore has drawn criticism from the Opposition.

In the video, shared online by the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Tamil Nadu unit, the managing director of the Annapoorna chain of restaurants, can be heard apologising to Sitharaman for the comments he had made about the indirect tax regime.

“Please pardon me for my comments,” Srinivas, who is also head of the Annapoorna chain of restaurants in the state, is heard saying in the video. “I do not belong to any political party.”

Srinivasan is also the president of the Tamil Nadu Hotel Owners’ Association.

There was a meeting organised in Coimbatore with businesses and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

▪️The owner of Sree Annapoorna, a famous vegetarian restaurant chain in Coimbatore, Mr. Srinivasan explained the problems of different GST rates for different items to FM

▪️He… pic.twitter.com/FXCZTWUjcU— Supriya Shrinate (@SupriyaShrinate) September 13, 2024

On Wednesday, the businessman reportedly told the finance minister during a public meeting: “The problem is that GST is applied differently to each item. For example, there is no GST on bun. If you put cream in it, GST becomes 18%. Because of...

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