Surat, Feb 20 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi's famous 'name-striped' suit went under the hammer for a staggering Rs.4.31 crore at a charity auction here Friday, officials said.
The final winning bid was placed by top-notch diamond merchant Lalji Patel, chairman of the Dharmanandan Diamonds Pvt. Ltd. of Surat.
The suit was the star attraction among 455 items that went under the hammer. The proceeds of the auction will go towards the prime minister's Clean Ganga mission.
The suit, which attracted global publicity, was designed by Ahmedabad-based designer Ramesh Kumar of Modi's regular tailor Jade Blue.
It has the name 'Narendra Damodardas Modi' weaved into it in glittering gold letters.
The suit kicked up a political row with opposition parties accusing the prime minister of indulging in 'narcissism' and questioned how a 'tea-vendor' could afford the expensive suit, reportedly costing around Rs.1 million.
At the three-day auction, it was put on a life-size mannequin resembling Modi, as the bidders examined it closely before announcing their bids.
All the 455 items - which went on auction Wednesday at the SMC Science Convention Centre - were gifted to Modi in India and abroad in the past nine months.
They included one gold article, 13 silver, 46 brass-copper-metallic artefacts, 14 ceramic and glass items, 31 wooden articles, 99 picture frames, 237 clothes including T-shirts from Australia, and 14 miscellaneous items.
Since his days as the Gujarat chief minister, Modi introduced the tradition to auction such gifts for various charities and had raised around Rs.95 crore in his 13 years in the saddle.
AAP-BJP fight reached murder-suicide: Sisodia said - there was a conspiracy to kill Kejriwal, Manoj Tiwari surrounded the suicide of AAP leader
Amidst the MCD elections, there is a continuous blame game between the BJP and the Aam Aadmi Party. Delhi's Deputy CM Manish Sisodia held a press conference at 10 am on Friday. Said- BJP is plotting
LPL 2023: Babar Azam won the hearts of the fans, but will not wear the jersey with the logo of the betting company in the Lanka Premier League
Pakistan cricket team captain Babar Azam has refused to endorse and wear apparel bearing the logo of a betting company during the upcoming Lanka Premier League (LPL), while several franchises in the
Bihar assembly sees protest over remarks on Smriti Irani
Patna, March 17 (IANS) Legislators of the opposition BJP on Tuesday created a ruckus in the Bihar assembly after an RJD lawmaker said union Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani was
Delhi Water Crisis: A big relief from the Supreme Court on the Delhi water crisis, orders given to Himachal Pradesh to release 127 cusecs of water
On Thursday, the Supreme Court has given a big decision on the petition filed regarding Delhi's water crisis. The court has asked Himachal Pradesh to give 127 cusecs of water to Haryana with immediate
Priyanka Gandhi New Bag: Now Priyanka reached Parliament with a bag supporting Bangladesh, yesterday she raised the issue of Palestine
Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi reached Parliament on Monday with a bag supporting Palestine, after which the BJP criticized her a lot. A leader close to Imran Khan in Pakistan also praised Priyanka for
Bhargavastra: 'Bhargavastra' will sense the threat of a drone and destroy it in a moment, capable of attacking up to 2.5 KM
India has successfully tested the indigenously developed anti-drone state-of-the-art hypersonic missile system Bhargavastra. This missile is equipped with the ability to fly five times faster than the
Nirmala Sitharaman: Finance Minister said in the BRICS meeting, that India's growth will be supported by financial spending
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the country's growth will be driven by fiscal spending. Participating online at the second meeting of BRICS Finance Ministers and Central Bank
For the RCB vs LSG match, Sanjay Manjrekar chose his fantasy XI, and made Glenn Maxwell the captain, was Virat Kohli given place?
The Eliminator match of IPL 2022 is going to be played between Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) today. Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has chosen his Fantasy XI
Russian Soyuz spacecraft sent to bring back stranded crew on ISS, mission expected to be completed in September
Russian news agencies reported that Soyuz MS-23 has been sent on a mission to bring back three astronauts stranded at the International Space Station. In fact, due to a leak in the cooling system of
Medical Education: 20 thousand medical students who returned from Ukraine will not be able to study in the country, the government told this reason
Ukraine Returned Medical Students: The future of 20,000 medical students who returned home during the war between Russia and Ukraine is now on the verge of collapse. NMC i.e. National Medical
