India's most famous suit was sold today for Rs 4.31 crore after a three-day auction that saw businessmen, diamond merchants and a teacher making offers.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's suit with his name woven into it in gold pinstripes finally went to 62-year old Hitesh Laljibhai Patel, a Surat-based diamond merchant. The money will be used for the Prime Minister's campaign to clean the river Ganga.
"I have 8000 thousand workers. I am going to proudly display it at my factory. Its a matter of pride that a suit worn by Narendra Modi will now be mine," said a jubilant Mr Patel to NDTV. He had doggedly outbid other buyers, declaring that the "sky's the limit."
The suit was auctioned along with over 400 other gifts Mr Modi has received since becoming Prime Minister. These included the replicas of the Pashupatinath Temple and the Statue of Liberty that the Prime Minister received as gifts, which went for over a crore rupees.
Those who lost out had no complaints. Himanshu Parmar of LPS Bossard told NDTV, "It is not a matter of disappointment. It is good that there are so many people willing to spend this much money for a good cause like cleaning the Ganga. I would say good luck to those who win the bid."
But the collector, Rajendra Kumar, denied the charge and said, "Some bidders wanted oral bids after the process was over. That was not allowed."
Surat resident Madhuri Kothari, who reached just after the gates shut, told NDTV, "I am really disappointed. I wanted to go inside and see the suit. There were huge crowds and I wanted to know what it was all about."
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