PM Modi spoke to actor Akshay Kumar about his childhood.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, often targeted by the Congress and its chief Rahul Gandhi on what they allege is a costly wardrobe, told actor Akshay Kumar in an interaction that he always cared about dressing properly because of how he felt as a child from a poor family.
He also revealed why he started wearing his trademark half-sleeve kurtas. During a free-wheeling interaction at his 7, Lok Kalyan Marg home, PM Modi was asked by the actor about his fashion choices. "Apart from the image of a strict administrator, there is another image that has been created because of what I wear...," he said.
"Since the time I was very young... I would wash my clothes on my own... I had a jhola and carried most of my belongings in it. Long-sleeved kurtas were a hassle because they took up more space and they were more difficult to wash, so I would cut the sleeves," the Prime Minister shared.
"I sometimes used to feel inferior because I was poor. So I would dress up properly. I would put hot coal in a lota (steel container) to iron my clothes with it."
Digging further back into his childhood, he said he did not have shoes. "My uncle once got canvas shoes, could be for around Rs 8 or 10. The shoes would get dirty, so after class I would collect pieces of chalk and get them home to clean the shoes the next morning," PM Modi recalled.
The PM's interaction with Akshay Kumar was aired a day after the third round of voting for the national election, which ends on May 19.