Hitesh and lalaji Patel, the father-son duo who won the bid for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s gold pinstripe suit at whooping Rs4.31 crore on Friday evening, have decided to place the mannequin of Modi with the suit at their diamond cutting and polishing unit at Katargam in Surat. Patels own Rs6,000 crore firm Dharmanandan Diamonds has dedicated a corner near the reception area of their office, where the Modi mannequin will be placed protected by a glass box.
The duo also made it a point to bring Modi mannequin with the suit from the venue of auction — Science Centre Gallery to their diamond unit in style. A huge rally was organised by the Patels displaying the suit along with full-length statue of Modi. Hundreds of people joined the rally in cars, motorbikes while playing musical instruments.
Modi’s statue wearing the suit was mounted on a truck and taken through the seven kilometer long route. As the procession reached at their diamond unit, employees stood on both sides of road showering rose petals. later on women of Patel family welcomed the father-son duo traditionally by applying vermillion on their forehead. “We are taking all possible care to ensure the navy blue suit of the Prime Minister remains intact. The suit is not just pieces of fabric, but for us it is as precious as a rare diamond,” said lalji Patel, adding that even if someone might have made a bid of Rs7 crore, he would have bid even higher to own the suit.
Story of lalaji Patel is as interesting as his famous bid for the suit. Born in a farmer’s family, Patel migrated to Surat from Ungmedi village in Bhavnagar district situated in arid Saurashtra region way back in 1987. He made a humble beginning in diamond industry with a micro unit of cutting and polishing of rough diamond. Gradually he progressed and reached to current position and today his unit is among the top ten diamond units of Surat with more than 7,000 employees.
Following his winning bid, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also made it a point to call him. “Narendrabhai thanked my family for supporting the ‘Clean Ganga Mission’,” he informed. Around Rs8 crore of fund was generated from the auction of 455 gifts Modi received as a Prime Minister including suit. The fund will be used for cleaning the River Ganga.