The company that manufactured the customised vests, which were gifted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the South Korean president, Moon Jae-in, confirmed on Friday that those are actually ‘Modi Jackets’ and not traditional Nehru jackets as claimed by some.
This confirmation has finally put an end to all the speculation and controversy which had emerged almost immediately after Moon Jae-in took to Twitter to thank Modi for the affability extended towards him.
During his official visit to India, President Moon Jae-in was particularly impressed by the vests worn by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and had complimented PM Modi for the same.
As a goodwill gesture, Modi had gifted the President of the Republic of Korea customised ‘Modi Vests’, meticulously tailored to fit him. On October 31, Moon Jae-in tweeted pictures of the sleeveless jackets, to be worn on a kurta, thanking him for his warm-hearted gesture.
Modi’s this exercise, as expected, did not go down well with a few known Modi critics. A controversy broke out on Twitter on how the jackets should be described.
The tweets sparked a debate, as some claimed that these were actually Nehru Jackets, popularised by the country’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah was one of the few who took to Twitter twisting this laudable gesture attempting to devalue the entire episode.
It’s really nice of our PM to send these but could he not have sent them without changing the name? All my life I’ve known these jackets as Nehru jackets & now I find these ones have been labelled “Modi Jacket”. Clearly nothing existed in India before 2014. https://t.co/MOa0wY37tr
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) October 31, 2018
However, Bipin Chauhan, the managing director of JadeBlue lifestyle India, which sent the vests to the South Korean president, has now confirmed that these were actually ‘Modi Jackets’.
Chauhan said he has been designing and making Modi’s clothes since 1989.
Putting an end to all the hypothesis and nit-picking Chauhan said, “Originally, these were ‘bandhgala’ (closed neck) jackets. They were worn by Nehru and even Sardar Patel. But the ones we sell are Modi Jackets. It is a bit longer and more comfortable in fit than Nehru Jackets.” The older versions were sold off in white and black shades, but Modi prefers a wider colour palette, he said.
Chauhan furthered that Modi had created a brand which has become popular since 2014. “In the past, these jackets, worn by Nehru and Sardar, were considered premium apparel for the elite. Now Modi-Ji has popularised them among the masses,” he added.
