Shashi Tharoor, a former diplomat and current Congressman from Thiruvananthapuram, gave a touching account of how Nirmala Sitharaman, the union finance minister, helped the family of infant Niharika obtain a GST exemption for cancer medicine worth Rs 7 lakh on Twitter.
He claimed that in a letter asking for his help, the parents explained that they needed an additional Rs 7 lakh for GST, which was out of their price range.
The former Union Minister further claimed that each dose of the expensive injection Dinutuximab Beta or Qarziba costs an outrageous Rs 10 lakh per vial to import. High-Risk Neuroblastoma, a rare form of cancer, has been identified in baby Niharika (Stage IV). Shashi Tharoor estimated that the overall cost of the immunotherapy cycle would be close to Rs 63 lakh based on the estimations of the medical professionals. He tweeted and distributed the letter.
Tharoor requested a Tax exemption in a letter to the finance minister, citing humanitarian considerations. However, according to Tharoor, his letter originally received no response, and the injection remained at the Mumbai airport because Customs would not release it without payment of the Tax.
He further recounted the situation and wrote, “I called Mrs Sitharaman directly this time. I told her this baby depended on her exercising her authority immediately because the drug was perishable and would expire while in the custody of Customs. She was instantly sympathetic.”
He also said that soon after this, Sitharaman’s PS Sernya Bhutia reached out to him and said that she had spoken to the CBIC Chairman Vivek Johri regarding the same and that the family got an exemption by 7 pm on March 28.
“The family will get their injection, the baby will live, and our exchequer will sacrifice Rs 7 lakhs in GST income to bring life and joy to a small child. Whenever I am assailed by doubts about spending so much of my life in politics, something like this happens and makes it all worthwhile. Thank you Nirmala ji, thank you Sernya and thank you, Vivek. You have reaffirmed my faith in government, in politics, and above all in humanity. Jai Hind,” Tharoor signed off.
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