Don't look suit horse in its mouth... - ...but read the fine print

Sanjay K. Jha and Basant Rawat, TT, Feb. 18: The auction of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's monogrammed suit has opened a goldmine of generosity - and a can of worms over the norms governing the conduct of ministers.

At the auction, the suit had fetched Rs 1.21 crore till this evening. More bids can be submitted till Friday 5pm.

On the eve of the auction, a diamond businessman had claimed that he had gifted the suit to Modi during the Vibrant Gujarat summit this January.

If the claim is true, the gift with "Narendra Damodardas Modi" written all over it, pinstripe-style, will come under the purview of the code of conduct for ministers (both Union and state) issued by the Union home ministry.

Clause 4.1 of the code says: "A minister should not accept valuable gifts except from close relatives, and he or members of his family should not accept any gifts at all from any person with whom he may have official dealings...."

Ramesh B. Virani, who claimed that he gifted the suit to Modi when the businessman had invited the Prime Minister to attend his son's wedding, has not yet clarified whether he fits the description of a "close relative" of Modi.

Virani was quoted by ANI, the news agency, as saying: "I gave this gift to my elder brother on behalf of my son." The Prime Minister has three brothers, none of whom answers to the name Ramesh Virani. In the absence of any official clarification, it has to be assumed that Virani used the "elder brother" phrase out of respect.

"At that time, he (Modi) told me that he has a very busy schedule ahead and also that he will be donating the suit. I said there is no problem with that. I told him that I want him to wear the suit on the day of my son's wedding as a blessing," Virani said.

Unknown to the world then, the Prime Minister did fulfil Virani's stated wish - but on January 25, a day before the businessman's son Smit got married. January 25 was the day the Prime Minister met US President Barack Obama for talks and tea on the lawns of Hyderabad House.

According to the code, ministers can accept gifts from -other than close relatives - foreign dignitaries.

Even if Virani turns out to be a "foreign dignitary" - some reports described him as an "NRI" but sources in Surat said he is based in Gujarat and a director of Karp Impex, an influential diamond trading company - Modi should have turned over the suit to the Toshakhana, the government repository for expensive gifts.

All gifts valued above Rs 5,000 have to be deposited with the Toshakhana. If a minister insists on keeping an expensive gift, "the recipient will have the option to purchase it from the Toshakhana by paying the difference between the value as assessed by the Toshakhana and Rs 5,000", according to Clause 4.2 of the code.

By value, the code means "approximate market price in the country of origin". Virani has disputed claims that the suit cost Rs 10 lakh - the figure quoted by Rahul Gandhi while attacking Modi during the Delhi poll campaign. But Virani has not disclosed the figure either, prompting some critics of Modi to wonder if the businessman indeed gifted the suit or someone else did.

According to the code, gifts "which are of symbolic nature, like a sword of honour, ceremonial robes etc.", can be retained by the recipients. A suit does not fall into that category, though the amount of attention the "selfie suit" has received eminently qualifies it to be endowed the status of a ceremonial robe.

Such was the attention at the auction today in Surat that the price has already touched Rs 1.21 crore.

Perhaps because of the benchmark set by Rahul, bids for the suit started from Rs 11 lakh (offer by chartered accountant Pankaj Maheswari), went on to Rs 51 lakh (real estate dealer Raju Aggrawal), rocketed to Rs 1 crore (textile trader Suresh Aggarwal) and hit Rs 1.11 crore (NRI businessman Viral Chowksi).

It was then that Rajesh Juneja, a textile businessman, made the bid of Rs 1.21 crore.

The suit as well as 455 other gifts Modi received in the past eight months as Prime Minister are on display at the three-day auction at Science Gallery in Surat. The proceeds from the auction will go to the Ganga clean-up mission, the Prime Minister's pet project.

The name of the highest bidder of the suit will be announced after the auction concludes on Friday.

So far, Juneja is the highest bidder. The businessman said he was willing to put in another Rs 40 lakh. Juneja told PTI: "I like Modi's hard work, confidence and that is why he is my role model. I want to keep the suit as a souvenir."

Officials in the PMO were not available for comment despite several attempts to contact them.

The Congress, whose spokespersons today cited the conduct code, has demanded that the auction be stopped. The government's defence is expected to be that since the proceeds would go for a national cause and not Modi's personal gain, there was nothing wrong with the auction.

But, going strictly by the code, the question still remains whether the Prime Minister should have worn the suit at a formal state event.

Had the process laid down by the guidelines been followed, the Prime Minister should have deposited the suit or the cloth - it is not clear in what form the gift was made though Virani uses the word "suit" - with the Toshakhana and had its value assessed. If the Prime Minister really wanted to wear it, the difference between the assessed price and Rs 5,000 should have been paid.

It is still not clear whether all these steps were taken before January 25 when Modi wore the suit. If they were taken, all it will take the Centre or the PMO to clear the air will be an official statement, which had not been issued till late tonight.

Many Congress leaders said in private that the alleged price was not an issue. They said the controversy was because of the name monogrammed on the suit.

A veteran Congress leader said: "Many politicians wear costly clothes. Though Manmohan Singh made his mark by his simple blue turban, many of his cabinet colleagues wore very costly suits and watches. Shivraj Patil was ridiculed for changing suits thrice a day. Sushil Shinde, Murli Deora, Praful Patel loved to wear costly suits. Even Rajiv Gandhi used to wear expensive glasses and shoes. But Modi crossed the line by getting his name monogrammed."

During the freedom struggle and its immediate aftermath, politicians stuck to kurta-pyjamas and the fabric would mostly be khadi.

Unwittingly or otherwise, a Congress leader explained the "hypocrisy" that politicians are expected to wear in the country. "In India, even a king has to uphold Gandhian simplicity for acceptability. You will have to present yourself in a manner that enables the poor to identify with you," he said.

Indira Gandhi's secretary R.K. Dhawan often narrated this story: "Once we went to attend a wedding at a cabinet minister's home. The hospitality was great. But on the way back, Mrs Gandhi looked grim. 'Did you see the necklace the minister's wife was wearing?' she said. It looked like the one queens wore once. Indiraji undertook a reshuffle after some time and the minister was dropped."