Nirmala ‘vacates seat’ for differently abled activist, wins hearts

Dr Aishwarya Rao, a disability rights activist, recalled a poignant moment during her brief interaction with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on his visit to the city on July 30, when on spotting the activists in wheelchairs, Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman vacated her chair immediately to clear the path for the team.

She said, “There were two of us in wheelchairs and had two persons escorting us. We were trying to meet Arun Jaitley, who is also the Chairman of the GST Council, to make our representation on the 5% GST levied on aids for persons with disability. Though we were not on the official list, a contact in the government told us that we could try our luck. We had to go through various security checks and visitors were not allowed to use the elevator, as it led directly to the Chairman’s Chamber. Seeing us waiting there, KT Raghavan, State Secretary, BJP, asked the security personnel to let us in. We were escorted right up to the ante-chamber.”

Due to the Finance Minister’s tight schedule, Dr Aishwarya was told that they would be allowed to meet him for a minute, to hand over their representations. But once they went into the Chairman’s Chamber, their discussion went on for nearly 15 minutes. “When we were ushered in, Jaitley didn’t notice us. But Sitharaman saw us entering and quickly vacated her seat and asked the people escorting us to take us right next to the Finance Minister. It was an instinctive reaction. When we gave our representation, Jaitley went through it thoroughly,” explained Dr Aishwarya, who is also the Director of the Corporation-supported shelter for women with disability. The discussion involved the finance minister explaining the complexities of GST. 

Commenting on the incident, noted advocate Sanjay Pinto lauded the gesture. “It was a spontaneous, sensitive gesture by a minister during a meeting where there was no media presence. This speaks volumes about the kind of person this minister is,” said the lawyer-columnist.