NE NEWS SERVICE
CHENNAI, FEB 19
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday held an informal meeting with top industrialists of Tamil Nadu to elicit their views on the budget she presented on February 1.
TVS Motor Chairman Venu Srinivasan, MRF Ltd Chairman M Mammen, India Cements Ltd Vice Chairman N Srinivasan, former Ashok Leyland Chairman R Seshasayee and Apollo Hospitals MD Sunita Reddy were among those who took part in the meeting, sources said. This is the first time she is meeting industry captains in Tamil Nadu after presenting the budget. However, the meeting was out of bounds for the media and the points discussed were not known.
Industry sources said the FM listened to the views put forth by the industrialists during the interaction. N Srinivasan said he thanked the FM for presenting an ”outstanding” budget that would spur growth. “The budget will spur growth. I told her that during this calendar year itself, all the industries, including manufacturing, will be running towards full capacity”, Srinivasan said
The official twitter handle of the FM’s office shared images of the Minister interacting with the industrialists.
Earlier in the day, BJP Tamil Nadu unit President L Murugan received Sitharaman and presented a ”Vel” to her as part of welcoming her to the state. “Vel” refers to a spear-like weapon that is traditionally associated with Lord Muruga. “Presented ”Vel” to Nirmala Sitharaman on her arrival to Chennai” Murugan said in a tweet and shared an image of him presenting it to her, along with State general secretary K T Raghavan.
Later, Sitharaman interacted with members of the BJP traders’ cell, party sources said.
