A matter of buns puts BJP in a pickle

Eight months ago, there was a controversy in Tamil Nadu over a film called Annapoorani. The next day, Ms. Sitharaman told the media in Coimbatore that a Group of Ministers was examining the demands of the hotel industry regarding the GST on various food items and would submit its recommendations. However, the BJP’s image took a hit when another video clip emerged in which Mr. Srinivasan was seen apologising to Ms. Sitharaman at a private meeting. When this apology too went viral, the Opposition slammed the BJP, especially the Finance Minister, for displaying “arrogance of power” and “intimidating those who ask questions.” Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi; DMK deputy general secretary of the Lok Sabha, Kanimozhi Karunanidhi; the organisation secretary of the AIADMK, D. Jayakumar; and the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee chief, K. Selvaperunthagai criticised the BJP. Then, in a surprise move, the BJP State president, K. Annamalai, who is in the U.K. on sabbatical, wrote on X, expressing his “sincere apology” for what his colleagues did, namely, sharing in public a private conversation between Ms. Sitharaman and Mr. Srinivasan.