A video of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s conversation – with the owner of the popular Sree Annapoorna Hotel chain in Coimbatore – landed the BJP’s Tamil Nadu chief, K Annamalai, in a spot of bother Friday as he admitted to an “unintended breach of privacy” by sharing the clip online.

In a post on X this afternoon Mr Annamalai offered his “sincere apologies” for inadvertently sharing a video of that conversation, and said he had also spoken to the businessman, Srinivasan.

Mr Annamalai hailed Srinivasan as a “pillar of Tamil Nadu’s business community” and someone who has contributed “significantly to the state and nation’s economic growth”. “I request everyone to lay the matter to rest with due respect,” the BJP leader wrote on X.

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…

— K.Annamalai (@annamalai_k) September 13, 2024

The post follows controversy over a video that some posts claimed showed the businessman apologising to Ms Sitharaman after his remarks at a business forum in Coimbatore attended by the Finance Minister.

Srinivasan had then urged Ms Sitharaman to keep GST rates equal across three food categories – savoury and sweet food items, and coffee. He also pointed out certain items – such as a bun – does not attract any GST on its own, but an 18 per cent charge is levied if it has a cream filing.

In a comment that drew chuckles from colleagues, Srinivasan said, “The customer then says, ‘you give me the bun and the cream… I will fill it myself.’ We can’t run the shops like this…”

“We have to give coffee and snacks to the same customers… but the GST differs for each. This creates chaos and daily there are fights,” he explained, adding, on a lighter note, that even the BJP’s Coimbatore MLA, Vanathi Srinivasan (seated with the Finance Minister), had argued this point with him.

“So, if you increase the GST then increase it for everything… let it be the same for all products,” he said, as other businessmen laughed.

In the widely-shared video of the interaction at the Coimbatore business forum, Srinivasan’s humorous comment drew a smile from Ms Sitharaman, who pointed out that GST rates were not calculated on a state-by-state basis. She did, however, say she would consider the issue.

Srinivasan also said Vanathi Srinivasan told him sweets were taxed less because they were consumed more in the north than the south. “I said (to Ms Srinivasan), ‘no, in Tamil Nadu, people consume sweets, coffee, and snacks in equal amount. So please… consider that,” he urged Ms Sitharaman, adding also (to more laughter), “If a family comes then even our computer can’t calculate GST.”

Shortly after that exchange a second video surfaced online and drew criticism from the Congress. It showed Srinivasan (with his back to the camera) sitting across from Ms Sitharaman, purportedly apologise for his comment.

NDTV cannot confirm the authenticity of this video or the conversation.

Towards the end of the second video he stands up and briefly folds his hands, before sitting down and saying, “I didn’t mean to say anything against any political party. I don’t belong to any political party.”

Senior Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi have attacked the BJP on this matter.

Mr Gandhi said on X, “When the owner of a small business… asks our public servants for a simplified GST regime, his request is met with arrogance and outright disrespect.”

Tamil Nadu’s CPI has demanded Ms Sitharaman apologise, and Lok Sabha MP Kanimozhi, a member of the state’s ruling DMK, said, “Union Ministers should not provoke the self-respect of Tamils.”

With input from agencies

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