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'What About Tobacco?' Twitter Not Happy With Nirmala Sitharaman's Retort To Kiran Mazumdar Shaw

And as a "wise man" once asked, the nation wants to know!
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during a press conference to announce the cabinet decision to ban e-cigarettes on September 18.
Hindustan Times via Getty Images
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during a press conference to announce the cabinet decision to ban e-cigarettes on September 18.

Amid much criticism and trolling over the e-cigarette ban, Nirmala Sitharaman had a row with Biocon chairperson Kiran Mazumdar Shaw on Twitter with clarifications on the questioned raised by the industrialist.

Shaw was one among many who had asked the government why gutka, pan masala and cigarettes were not banned along with vapes, if the government really wanted to protect the youth from the harms of tobacco.

Shaw also asked why the finance minister made the announcement and not the health minister.

Sitharaman tweeted at Shaw saying, “Kiran ji, a few things. This press conference was dedicated to Cabinet decisions. I began by saying that I was there in my capacity as Chair of the GoM which has dealt with the matter.”

Sitharaman told Shaw that she was only following government protocol.

Shaw replied to the finance minister saying she stood corrected and that her confusion had been clear.

However, there was still not clarification on the gutka question. And as a “wise man” once asked, the nation wants to know!

Here’s what people asked:

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.