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He may be a strident critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi but Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan says he shares many of his qualities like "making tea", "dressing properly" and "playing drums" and is a "fit candidate" for prime minister.
"I have all the qualities of becoming Prime Minister. I can make tea, play the drum, cook food and I wear proper clothes. Besides, I am not all that bad looking or am I corrupt," he said at an e-rickshaw distribution function in Saharanpur.
Khan took jibes at Modi for his "chaiwala" beginnings, his "monogrammed suit" and his drum playing episodes in Japan and Tanzania.
"If I become Prime Minister, I assure you, I will deposit Rs 20 lakh in accounts of 130 crore people within six months. I am not like those who don't keep their promises," he said in an apparent dig at Modi over his poll promise of depositing Rs 15 lakh each in the account of every Indian.
"Nobody would have been poor if the money was deposited.
People would not have to come here to take e-rickshaws to earn a livelihood but would have been 'crorepatis' (millionaires)," he said.
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"A rickshaw puller always faces difficulty in getting his daughter married because the probable groom's family rejects the proposal because of his social status and work," he claimed.
The UP government is replacing cycle-rickshaws with e-rickshaws to give them the opportunity to earn better and regain their self-respect, he said.
Taking further potshots at Modi, Khan said, "At a time when tension rages at the border and our poor are going hungry, he (Modi) sends 'shawls' to Pakistan and gets in return boxes of mangoes. The king is happy so is Pakistan. He will take advantage of this in the 2017 polls (in UP)."
Attacking the media, he said it was better to watch entertainment channels than news channels.
