BJP leader Annamalai produces Rafale watch bill, says he bought it from a Coimbatore man

CHENNAI: BJP state president K Annamalai on Friday produced the much anticipated Rafale watch bill and said he purchased it from one of his friends from Coimbatore.
Annamalai showed the bill to reporters and said he bought the Rafale watch from a friend through a private watch store in Coimbatore. “It was through Zimson Times Private Ltd in Coimbatore that I purchased the watch from Cheralathan Ramakrishnan, also from Coimbatore, on May 27, 2021. The allegations levelled by the DMK that I got the watch as a bribe when I worked as DCP in Bengaluru is not true," said Annamalai.
The issue of Annamalai wearing a limited edition Rafale watch was flagged by the DMK. During a press meet in Chennai in January, Annamalai said he would produce the bill for the watch on April 14. According to the bill, the cost of the watch is Rs 3 lakh.
Annamalai said there were only two Rafale watches in India and the other one was with a senior executive of an MNC in Mumbai. Speaking about the watch, Annamalai said, “The watch is heavy, and one cannot wear it easily.”
Annamalai said his day-to-day expenses were met by his friends and his party. "As a state president of a party, I spend Rs 7 to 8 lakh per month as part of my monthly expenses. But all my expenses are funded by my friends and party. Even my house rent and salary for my PAs are paid by my friends," said Annamalai.
Meanwhile, the DMK took to Twitter to flag off “discrepancies” in the Rafale bill. DMK spokesman Rajiv Gandhi tweeted that there was “a difference in serial numbers” between the watch purchased by Cheralathan and later by Annamalai.