Bids fly thick and fast for Modi suit on last day of auction

Surat There was a scramble to claim Prime Minister Narendra Modis pinstripe monogrammed suit with bids going higher on the third and final day of the auction here today as two Suratbased businessmen made an offering of Rs 181 croreFive fresh bids were received today during the auction with businessmen Lavji Badshah and Jayanti Aklara making the highest offer of Rs 181 crore to purchase the controversial suit that Modi wore during US President Barack Obamas visit to India last monthNarendra Modi and Barack ObamaBadshah and Aklara had earlier offered Rs 171 crore but increased their bid amount to Rs 181 crore after another businessman Hitesh Patel offered Rs 175 crore We have great respect for Saheb Prime Minister Narendra Modi and as this fund will be utilised for Clean Ganga Mission we preferred to make this bid said Aklara who came to submit a written bidThe first fresh bid this morning of Rs 161 crore was made by Suratbased diamond trader Hitesh Patel However when others came forward he raised his bid offering to 175 crore I made the bid as the fund will go to Clean Ganga campaign That is the reason why I made the bid twice to get the Modi suit he said Besides trader Rajesh Jain made an offering of Rs 165 croreI have very high feelings for the Modi suit as I consider it a national asset Jain said after his bid On the second day of auction yesterday the highest bid was from Suratbased diamond trader Mukesh Patel who offered Rs 148 crore for the suit The bidding for the suit had started with Rs 11 lakh on the first dayThe suit that kicked up a political storm is being auctioned along with 455 items that Modi had received as gifts during his nearly ninemonth long tenure to generate funds for the Prime Ministers ambitious Clean Ganga Mission The auction at the Science Convention Centre will close at 5 PM today after which the articles will be handed over to the highest bidderModi was photographed wearing the suit during the summit talks with Obama at Hyderabad House in Delhi on January 25 and at a joint media appearance that followed the meeting On closer inspection photographs showed that the stripes were actually a monogram Narendra Damodardas Modi embroidered on the fabric vertically down the stripeThe suit had triggered a national debate and the Prime Minister was slammed by his political opponents especially the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party for wearing an expensive suit that some reports said cost nearly Rs 10 lakhAmid the media hype surrounding the auction Congress workers held a protest yesterday outside the auction venue calling the event an act of self publicity by Modi Swine flu cases are on rise in the city the state and also in the country but the BJP government has neglected poor patients Now they hold such extravaganzas in the name of cleaning Ganga The people of Varanasi should ask Modi why he did not fulfil the promises he made Surat city Congress President Naishad Desai had told reportersModi has organised this extravaganza merely for self publicity and personal gain This property belongs to the nation and certainly not to him Desai said The auction apart from protest also drew derision with JDU president Sharad Yadav calling the suit historic which should be kept in a museumThe suit is historic in nature It should not be sold but kept in a museum The future generation can view it and they can learn a lot from it No one should ridicule itAll this will increase tourism he said in Delhi taking a jibe at the Prime Minister