'Mamata didi still gifts me Kurtas every year', says Modi in interview with Akshay Kumar

New Delhi, Apr 24: Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an interview with Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar on Wednesday said that he had several friends in the Opposition and also revealed that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, one of his harshest critics, still sends him 'kurtas' every year.

In a candid interview with actor, Modi said,"It may affect me during elections but I can admit that Mamata Banerjee still gifts me kurtas... When Banerjee found out that Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina gifted me Bengali sweets, she also started to send me those."

The interview was telecast a day after one of his sharpest attacks on Mamata Banerjee at a rally in West Bengal on Tuesday.

The Prime Minister also revealed his love for mangoes. He also told Akshay Kumar how he used to pluck mangoes from trees during his childhood.

Modi also revealed that he never thought he would occupy the Prime Minister's chair and had wanted to join the armed forces. "I never thought I would become the PM...I guess it is the same for many...maybe for people with a certain background and dream of such things. During the 1962 war I used to see soldiers board the train at Mehsana (Gujarat) station and I was inspired by them and their sacrifices,'' Modi said during a conversation with Akshay Kumar.

Speaking about how he is as a person, Modi said,''Difficult to say what I wanted to become when I was young...I never thought I would become what I have. Good to talk about things other than politics. I have never found a reason to be angry with people whom I have had to work with...Yes I have been strict but that is different from being angry.''

In a conversation with Akshay Kumar, Modi said,''I used to wash my clothes myself till the time I became CM of Gujarat. But I have always liked to wear clean clothes. During my childhood, I used to iron my clothes by filling coal into an utensil."

Revealing his retirement plan, Modi said,''I sleep for 3-4 hours a day. My body cycle has become such that I don't feel like having more sleep. Even Barack Obama asked me once how do you keep yourself active by sleeping so less. But one thing I will do after retirement is to explore how to sleep for more than 3-4 hours.''

Talking about attachment with family, PM said,''I left my family and everything else at a very young age, so now there's a kind of detachment. However, whenever I get time I meet my mother and brothers and their family. Infact my mother tells me 'why are you wasting time on me.''

Over the relation that he has with his mother, PM Modi said that till today, his mother still sends him money. "Aaj bhi jab main maa se milne jaata hun to wo mere haath me sawa rupaya zaroor rakhti hain," he revealed.