Going once, going twice: Rs. 1.11 crore bid made for Modi's suit

Money will go towards the clean-up of the Ganges, a pet project of India premier


Web Desk/afp February 18, 2015
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi PHOTO: AFP

AHMEDABAD: A Gujrati nonresident Indian (NRI) has made a whopping Rs1.11 crore (INR) bid in an auction on Wednesday on the suit Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wore during US President Barack Obama’s visit to India last month, reports The Hindu.

Viral Chowksi, made the offer at the three-day auction which commenced on Wednesday.

Another businessman Suresh Aggarwal made an offer of Rs. 1 crore for the suit.

“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, saying it was for a noble cause.

The auction is taking place to raise money to clean the Ganges.

The famously fastidious prime minister was mocked for narcissism after wearing the bespoke wool suit with the words "Narendra Damodardas Modi" woven into it in tiny letters when he met the US president in Delhi last month.

The suit, along with more than 450 other gifts the Indian premier has received, are on sale in a three-day auction that started on Wednesday in the in the city of Surat in Modi's home state of Gujarat, organisers said.

"These items are gifts that the PM received since he took charge... the items that will be auctioned include his pinstriped suit," Milind Toravane, Surat municipal chief and organiser of the event, told AFP.

Toravane said no reserve had been set for the suit. The money will go towards the clean-up of the Ganges, a pet project of Modi, who has described the pollution of the sacred river as a national shame.

It is not the first time Modi has auctioned off gifts for charity – as chief minister of Gujarat, he gave away some 18,000 items, raising over $3 million for girls' education.

COMMENTS (5)

Gp65 | 9 years ago | Reply @Pity: Did you read that it is not for his personal kitty but or a national initiative that e is auctioning all gifts received by PM? What is funny about a PM dedicating everything to the country?
baby doll main sone di | 9 years ago | Reply 1.51 crore. current bid
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