Accusing Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman of insulting owner of a restaurant in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore for simply posing a question to her on the GST, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge called it arrogance of power.

He alleged that the BJP-led government at the Centre is only committed to benefiting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “crony friends”.

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Kharge, who is also the leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, wrote in a social media post, “Tax terror for poor and middle class while ‘Tax Cuts’ for Modi ji’s crony friends. The disgraceful humiliation of a small businessman, the owner of Sree Annapoorna Restaurant in Coimbatore by the finance minister and the BJP, smacks of arrogance of power. She has been a repeated offender in such public interactions.”

“The owner (of the restaurant) asked a genuine question about the Modi government’s flawed GST and was first met with a condescending laugh by the FM and later forced to apologise to her on camera,” he said.

Alleging that MSMEs and small business owners are bearing the brunt of the Modi government’s repeated financial assaults in the form of a flawed GST and demonetisation, the Congress chief said, “The BJP is only committed to benefitting Modi ji’s large crony friends. From Day 1, the Congress party is saying that we need a simple, uniform, moderate, and rational GST on essential items.”

Referring to the party’s manifesto for the Lok Sabha polls, Kharge said, “In our 2024 manifesto, we said, Congress will replace the GST laws enacted by the BJP/NDA government with GST 2.0. The new GST regime will be based on the universally accepted principle that GST shall be a single, moderate rate (with a few exceptions) that will not burden the poor”. The Congress party is strongly committed to this. BJP’s ‘loot small owners and shoot the messenger’ policy spells a disaster for the nation’s economy.”

Echoing similar sentiments, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha 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, Modi Ji rolls out the red carpet.”

“Our small business owners have already endured the blows of demonetisation, an inaccessible banking system, tax extortion, and a disastrous GST. The last thing they deserve is further humiliation. But when the fragile egos of those in power are hurt, it seems humiliation is exactly what they’ll deliver,” he said.

Stating that MSMEs have been asking for relief for years, Gandhi said, “If this arrogant government would listen to the people they would understand that a simplified GST with a single tax rate would solve the problems of lakhs of businesses.”

Meanwhile, chairperson of Congress Social Media Supriya Shrinate at a press conference at the party headquarters said, “A meeting was organised by the BJP as part of its membership drive, where people from all walks of life, including business owners in Coimbatore, were invited to meet the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The owner of the renowned Sree Annapoorna restaurant chain highlighted the absurdity of varying GST rates for cream-filled buns. This illogical system burdens businesses and even tax officials with tedious calculations.”

“Instead of addressing these concerns, the finance minister mocked him on stage. The owner was forced to apologise in person, and the BJP’s Tamil Nadu official handle shared the surreptitiously recorded video,” she said.