Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who has an image of a smug and no-nonsense politician, often criticized for her lofty answers in public platforms, was left smiling amid uproarious laughter from the listeners at “Vision for Indian Finance Markets” meet.
In the video which went viral a broker was heard complaining about high level of taxes in India, directly to the Finance Minister. He jokingly termed the Government as a “sleeping partner”.
The occasion was the summit “Vision for Indian Finance Markets”, where the broker lamented that while investors were putting their money at risk, the government earned thanks to heavy tax burden. The broker was forthright while enumerating various taxes imposed such as GST, IGST, stamp duty, STT, and long-term capital gains tax. People laughed in approval when he said that the government’s earnings often surpass those of the brokers’.
Listening to the playful rant by the person in the audience, the Finance Minister kept smiling. At the end of the question, Ms. Sitharaman initially said that she has no answer to the question. She however was quick to repond by saying that “A sleeping partner cannot answer sitting here.”
Ms. Sitharaman said the Narendra Modi government has created “exponential and unprecedented” infrastructure in the last 10 years. She also made it a point to highlight 3.74 lakh km of rural roads built under PM Gram Sadak Yojana.
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