Video of restaurant owner's apology to Finance Minister leaked, erupts row  

A controversy erupted in Tamil Nadu after the BJP leaked a video of a restaurant chain owner apologising to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during a private conversation after he publicly expressed concern about the complexities of GST on food items at a government event.

The Congress and the DMK slammed the saffron party for the "arrogance and outright disrespect" of Sri Annapoorna restaurant owner Srinivasan. Amid widespread criticism, Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai apologised for sharing the video of the private conversation.

The incident happened during a meeting of business owners with the Finance Minister in Coimbatore district. During the meeting, the chairperson of Sri Annapoorna restaurant, a popular chain in Tamil Nadu, flagged the challenges restaurateurs faced due to the varying GST rates on food items.

He highlighted that cream-filled buns are taxed at 18% whereas there is no GST on the buns themselves. "There is 5% GST on sweets but 12% on savouries. Customers often complain, saying, 'Just give me the bun, I will add the cream and jam myself'," Srinivasan said, drawing laughter from other entrepreneurs.

The speech by Srinivasan, who is also the chairperson of the Tamil Nadu Hotel Owners Federation, also drew a smile from the Finance Minister.

Later, during a private conversation, Srinivasan apologised to Sitharaman for his remarks in the presence of Coimbatore South MLA Vanathi Srinivasan. "Please pardon me for my comments. I do not belong to any political party," he is heard saying.

A video of the conversation was shared on X by BJP's Tamil Nadu social media cell state convenor, drawing outrage on social media. Several users said it was bad optics, and it seemed as if the restaurant owner was forced to apologise to the Union Minister.

As the outrage gained momentum, K Annamalai said he had spoken with the restaurant owner and expressed regret for the "unintended breach of privacy".

The incident turned into a springboard for the opposition to hit out at the government on GST implementation. Hitting out at the BJP for the "humiliation" meted out to the restaurant owner, Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi said,  "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. Yet, when a billionaire friend seeks to bend the rules, change the laws, or acquire national assets, PM Modi rolls out the red carpet."