The state BJP unit has claimed that the alleged diamond-studded garland presented to the Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi after his anointment as the prime ministerial candidate is worth `20 only. The issue of the garland was raised by the NCP that asked the price of the garland that was presented to Mr Modi by former BJP president Nitin Gadkari publicly.
On September 13, BJP president Rajnath Singh declared Mr Modi as the prime ministerial candidate of the BJP. To felicitate the moment, senior leaders of the party presented him with flower garlands. But, according to NCP spokesmen, Mr Gadkari was the lone leader who offered him a garland studded with diamonds. Mr Malik had even sought details related to the garland, for instance, its price and the source of the money with which it was bought.
Reacting to the accusations, the BJP has come out with clarifications and claimed that the garland presented to Mr Modi by Mr Gadkari was ordinary. Party spokesperson Madhav Bhandari on Saturday said that the “necklace” with a lotus pendant is available for `20 only.
“BJP office secretary in the party headquarter Arun Jain was carrying these necklaces at the welcome ceremony. Some party leaders, including Mr Gadkari and leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj, were provided the necklaces to felicitate Mr Modi,” asserted the BJP spokesperson.
He clarified that the necklaces were in fact part of the BJP’s publicity material, which might be used as garlands at party rallies and other functions.
“The BJP central office has sent us a few necklaces and we will honour our NCP friend Mr Malik with it for breaking this exclusive news to the media,” Mr Bhandari said, countering the NCP’s allegations. The party also taunted the media and announced that it would gift the necklaces to some TV news channels “as a token of our appreciation for their enterprising reporting in making this BJP publicity material a runaway success”.