Surat: What some critics call an exercise in damage control is fast generating a windfall for the Indian Prime Minister- Narendra Modis pet Clean Ganga Mission. The controversial pinstriped suit with his name woven into it lengthwise, worn when he hosted United States President Barack Obama last month has gone under the hammer in Surat and a Gujrati NRI businessman has made a bid of a whopping Rs 1.11 crore for the outfit.
The suit had triggered a debate in social media while the PM was slammed by his political opponents for wearing an expensive suit. Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh had called Modi a megalomaniac.
The Prime Ministers Office (PMO) decided to auction the suit along with some 455 other items that Mr Modi has received as gifts during his tenure as Prime Minister at a three-day event in Surat, starting on Wednesday, 16 Feb.
PM Modi appears to be skilled in the craft of turning a liability into an asset as he sells off his controversial
pinstripe monogrammed bandhgala suit to channel the funds raised into a noble cause like cleaning up the Ganga river. While Gujarati NRI Viral Chowksi, offered to pay Rs 1.11 crore for the suit, another businessman Suresh Aggarwal made an offer of Rs. 1 crore for the outfit. I have offered Rs. 1 crore. This is work of charity and when the Prime Minister is doing for a great cause like the cleaning of the Ganga, I decided to go ahead and buy the suit, he said. Another Raju Aggarwal offered Rs. 51 lakh for the suit, also saying it was for a noble cause.
Announcing the auction of the infamous suit as well as 455 other items, Surat Municipal Commissioner Milind Toravane said, the gift items belonging to Prime Minister Modi is a national treasure and the money generated from the auction will be utilised for the Clean Ganga Mission.
The event was organised at Surat Municipal Corporations (SMC) Science Convention Centre, as the PMO decided to hold the auction event in the diamond city. According to P N Makwana, resident collector, Surat is chosen as the first venue because it is felt that there would be maximum biddings from the Diamond City.
During his chief ministerial tenure in Gujarat, Mr Modi had reportedly initiated a trend to auction the gifts he received in a year. The proceeds were donated to Kanya Kelavani Yojna for the education of girl children.
On January 25, the Indian Prime Minister was photographed wearing the suit during his summit talks with Obama in Hyderabad House, New Delhi. He was also seen wearing the suit at a joint media appearance that followed the meeting.
On closer inspection, photographs of the suit showed that each stripe was actually comprised of tiny letters spelling out his name in full- Narendra Damodardas Modi, and embroidered on the fabric vertically down the stripe.
The suit set-off an avalanche of reactions on social media earning Mr Modi many sobriquets- including narcissist, megalomaniac and self-obsessed. A debate on whether the suit, which from a distance appeared to be a classic navy blue pinstripe design, was fine style and good form or a thinly-disguised show of narcissism has coursed through the social media, even attracting global media attention.
Tweets flew thick and fast, including comparisons with former Egypt President Hosni Mubarak who is known to have a similar outfit. Congress leader Ajay Maken said the auction was a damage control exercise by the Prime Minister, who was widely criticised for donning such a suit.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi also had raked up the issue of Mr. Modis expensive suit during the campaign for Delhi assembly polls in which the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was routed. Some reports said the suit cost nearly Rs 10 lakh.
No base price was fixed for any of the items listed for auction. Among the gift items to be auctioned are reportedly 237 cloth pieces, 99 photo frames, 28 metallic items, 13 silver items, one gold item, five items made of glass, nine of ceramic, 18 of brass and copper, and 31 of wood.
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