Sri Annapoorna hotel has appealed to the public to dispel “unnecessary assumptions and political misunderstandings” after a video of its owner apologising to Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman went viral on September 13.
In a statement, the Coimbatore-based hotel chain said, “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.”
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During a meeting with the finance minister on September 11, D Srinivasan, the hotel’s managing director and vice-president of the South Indian Hotels and Restaurants Association, raised concerns about varying GST rates for different products in restaurants and bakeries. Following the viral video of their private meeting, Srinivasan met the finance minister “privately under his own volition to ensure there is no misunderstanding or misrepresentation of facts.”
The hotel said the leaked video “has caused a lot of misunderstanding and confusion”.
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‘Matter of shame,’ says TN CM Stalin
The video posted by the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Tamil Nadu unit, which has gone viral on social media, shows the owner of the restaurant chain apologising to Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman for his remarks on GST. The incident has drawn criticism from the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the Congress party.
“The way the Union minister handled it is a matter of shame because he made fair demands on GST,” Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin said on Saturday.
The Tamil Nadu BJP has since apologised for mistakenly sharing the video and has taken action against those responsible, the hotel said.
We would like to thank FM Sitharaman: Annapoorna hotel
It thanked finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and MLA Vanathi Srinivasan for facilitating the GST discussion and expressed its wish to end the controversy and move forward.
“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,” it said.
“We would like to thank all our loyal customers and general public who have been great source of support and inspiration,” it added.