2 weeks Ago
Chennai: The recent controversy over Annapoorna hotel MD D Srinivasan expressing angst over different GST rates on products figured prominently during an informal meeting held by Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman with second-rung TN BJP leaders in Chennai on Saturday. Functionaries, who attended the meeting, said Nirmala spoke at length about the Coimbatore incident. Nirmala had lamented that the media highlighted only Srinivasan's speech and not her reply, sources said.
"Nirmala said journalists failed to report in detail her response to Chennai metro rail issue while they focused only on Srinivasan's speech. She was upset with the way things unfolded in Coimbatore after Srinivasan's speech," said a functionary, who attended the meeting, seeking anonymity. The Union finance minister had hit out at Tamil Nadu govt for alleging that Centre was not allotting funds for Chennai Metro Rail phase 2.
Functionaries, who attended the meeting, said Nirmala was in Chennai to lead the membership drive in the city over the weekend. Before commencing the drive, she met BJP functionaries for breakfast. TN BJP youth wing president Vinoj P Selvam, who attended the meeting, said various topics were touched upon.
"Insightful conversations and discussions on varied subjects from Chennai metro to start-up hubs mushrooming across the state Smt @nsitharaman had with @BJP4TamilNadu karyakarthas this morning. Thank you madam," Vinoj said on X. Nirmala asked TN BJP functionaries to take the Centre's schemes to Tamil Nadu people despite the "sticker politics of DMK".
She asked functionaries not to indulge in unnecessary controversial talks and to focus on BJP's enrolment drive. Senior BJP functionaries, including the party's TN coordination committee convenor H Raja, former Telangana governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, party's national women's wing president Vanathi Srinivasan, and former Union minister Pon Radhakrishnan did not attend the meeting. Though Tamilisai was in the Coimbatore region for the membership drive, sources close to her said she was upset for not being invited to the meeting.
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