Coimbatore's popular hotel chain, Annapoorna has issued a clarification after a row erupted over its owner, D Srinivasan apologising to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for his remarks at a business forum. The video of the incident went viral drawing criticism from opposition leaders including Rahul Gandhi and MK Stalin.
The video had sparked allegations that Srinivasan was forced to apologise to Sitharaman after raising what many considered genuine concerns of the hotel industry at an official forum.
In its clarification, the hotel said that Srinivasan met the Union minister privately to address any misunderstanding.
Srinivasan, who is also the Honorary President of the Tamil Nadu Hoteliers Association, met the Finance Minister privately of his own volition to ensure there is no misunderstanding or misrepresentation of facts, the hotel said. "The video of this private meeting was inadvertently shared in social media which has caused a lot of misunderstanding and confusion," it added.
Action has been taken against the maker of the video, the hotel chain said and urged everyone to move on from this episode.
"We would like to put to rest the unnecessary assumptions and political misunderstanding. We hope everybody understands that we would like to end this episode and move on," it said.
The video was believed to have been leaked by functionaries of Bharatiya Janata Party's Tamil Nadu unit, after which its chief, K Annamalai issued an apology.
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The video drew the ire of the opposition leader with Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi criticising the government’s treatment of small business owners.
"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," Gandhi said in a post on X.
"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 added.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin also slammed the Union Minister terming her handling of the situation "shameful".
"The way the Union minister handled it is a matter of shame because he (the businessman) made fair demands on the GST," he said.