Gujarat.
The much talked about auction of the Bandgala monogrammed pinstripe suit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi began in Surat (Gujarat) on February 18, 2015 and is said to be on for three days (i.e. February 20, 2015). At the end of the Second Day of the auction, A diamond trader from Bhavnagar bid Rs 1.40 crores for the suit.
At the end of the First Day of the auction, a Non-Resident-Indian (NRI) Viral Choski’s had bid Rs 1.1 crores for the Bandgala monogrammed pinstripe suit of Narendra Modi which was said to be the highest on the first day. Surat City Collector Rajendra Kumar claimed that the bidding will close on February 20 at 5 PM.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had worn this Bandgala monogrammed pinstripe suit with his name on it during the visit of President of United States of America Barack Obama on January 26, 2015.
The proceeds of this auction is said to go to the Namami Gange Trust also known as the Clean Ganga Fund. The entire suit and pant had Narendra Damodardas Modi repeatedly embroidered into the fabric.
Ramesh Kumar Bhikabhai Virani had gifted the Bandgala monogrammed pinstripe suit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Ramesh Virani said that he had gifted this suit to Modi and had asked him to wear it on his son’s wedding as a blessing to him. However, the PM had said that he will give it away to charity. Ramesh Virani claims that he is very happy that he had worn the suit.
The Bandgala monogrammed pinstripe suit is reported to be worth almost Rs 10 lakhs has also seen Modi coming under criticism. Modi’s rivals have called him megalomaniac and narcissist.
Senior Congress leader Ajay Maken had raised questions on such an expensive gift for the Prime Minister. He had asked how can such an expensive gift be called a private gift. The PM should explain why that man gifted such an expensive suit.
BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi had commented on Ajay Maken’s remark and had said that Congress was lowering its political stature. In the past too Prime Minister Narendra Modi had been donating his belongings to charity, countered Trivedi.
On the other hand, Omar Abdullah tweeted saying, “If you have so much money why not just quietly donate it to charity without buying a suit which you know you can’t wear???”
