Modi's pinstripe-with-his-name suit had generated a lot of buzz on social networking mediums. Modi's pinstripe-with-his-name suit had generated a lot of buzz on social networking mediums.

A Gujarati NRI businessman has claimed that he gifted the monogrammed pin-striped black suit that Prime Minister Narendra Modi wore during his famous 'Chai Pe Charcha' with US President Barack Obama last month in New Delhi.

"I presented the suit to him (PM Modi) when I attended the recent Vibrant Gujarat summit," Ramesh Kumar Bhikabhai Virani said in an interview to ANI. "I gave it while extending an invitation to him to attend my son's wedding on January 26," he said.

The controversial suit, which became the centre of a huge media attention after it was said to cost at least Rs 10 lakh, is being auctioned along with 455 other gifts received by Modi at Surat to raise money for river Ganga.

"I can confirm that what is being said about its cost is not correct," Virani said. "My son who gifted him that dress does not have the guts to spend that kind of money," he said. "As soon as I gifted him, PM Modi told me that he will donate it or auction it to send the proceeds to a charity," Virani said.

PM Modi flaunted the personalised suit while meeting US President Barack Obama in New Delhi on January 25. PM Modi flaunted the personalised suit while meeting US President Barack Obama in New Delhi on January 25.

When asked to respond to political criticism of Modi and his suit, Rameshkumar told ANI, "I am not a politician; I am a businessman. I am very far away from politics. For me, it is invaluable that Modiji wore this suit on the day of my son's wedding."

Modi's colleagues in the Cabinet had also reportedly advised him to give the suit to an NGO for auction and use the money for the PM's pet Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. The money generated from the auction will be donated to a Varanasi NGO, sources said.

PM Modi had flaunted the personalised suit with his full name 'Narendra Damodardas Modi' engraved on it in his Hyderabad House interaction with Obama on January 25. During the acrimonious Delhi Assembly election campaign, 'mufflerman' Kejriwal became the quintessential middle-class hero while 'Pradhansevak' Modi was accused of strutting around in an expensive 'name suit'.

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi also took a swipe at Modi's Make In India campaign and claimed that the suit was made in the UK.

- (An earlier version of the story carried a tweet wrongly attributed to AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal. That tweet was from a parody account and has since been removed. We regret the error.)

