Annapoorna’s Statement on Nirmala Sitharaman-D Srinivasan Episode

A video showing D Srinivasan, owner of Coimbatore’s renowned Annapoorna hotel chain, apologising to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for remarks made at a business forum, has sparked widespread controversy. The clip, which was shared on social media, led to accusations of undue pressure from political opponents.

Annapoorna has now issued a statement clarifying the situation.

According to the statement, Srinivasan, who serves as the Managing Director of Annapoorna, raised concerns about varying GST rates in restaurants and bakeries during a meeting with Finance Minister Sitharaman on 11 September 2024. Following the widespread circulation of his remarks, Srinivasan voluntarily met with the minister privately to avoid any misunderstandings. However, a video of this private meeting was inadvertently shared on social media, causing confusion.

Read also: Annamalai Apologises After Video Of Annapoorna Owner’s Apology Sparks Row

The BJP’s Tamil Nadu unit later issued an apology for the unintended breach of privacy, with party president K Annamalai expressing regret over the incident. Annamalai acknowledged the private nature of the conversation and apologised on behalf of the party for releasing the video, which had fuelled controversy.

The opposition, including the Congress and DMK, criticised the BJP, accusing the party of humiliating Srinivasan. They argued that the restaurant owner was pressured into making the apology. Notably, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi condemned Prime Minister Narendra Modi for alleged preferential treatment, while DMK MP Kanimozhi accused the Union government of damaging Tamil pride.

Read also: “When Egos In Power Are Hurt…”: Rahul Gandhi On Annapoorna Owner’s ‘Apology’ To Sitharaman

Annapoorna’s statement emphasised the closure of the issue and expressed gratitude to its supporters, urging an end to the “unnecessary assumptions” surrounding the episode.

Read also: Tamil Nadu Businessman Allegedly Apologised To Nirmala Sitharaman After Raising GST Concerns

Annapoorna statement:

“During an interaction of representatives from MSMEs and Chamber of Commerce in Coimbatore with Honourable Minister of Finance and Minister of Corporate Affairs Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday, 11th Sep 2024, our Managing Director, Mr.D.Srinivasan, Honourary President of Tamil Nadu Hotel Association & Vice-President of South Indian Hotels and Restaurants Association had raised the issue of different GST rates for different products in restaurants and bakeries.

Since the news clippings and videos of the interaction went viral, the following day he met the Finance minister privately under his own volition to ensure there is no misunderstanding or misrepresentation of facts. The video of this private meeting was inadvertently shared in social media which has caused a lot of misunderstanding and confusion.

On social media platform X, ©BJP4TamilNadu has apologised for the mistakenly sharing the video and consequently action has been taken against the maker of the video.

We would like to thank our Honourable Minister of Finance and MLA Ms.Vanathi Srinivasan for organising the GST meeting for the trade bodies and organisations to present their views.

With this we would like put to rest the unnecessary assumptions and political misunderstanding. We hope everybody understands that we would like to end this episode and move on.

We would like to thank all our loyal customers and general public who have been great source of support and inspiration.”