Erdogan promises private jet for top Muslim cleric in Turkey

President says the respected religious leader deserves same privileges as the pope

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced to provide a private jet to the country's top Muslim cleric.

A similar promise to present made by the president earlier the cleric a Mercedes met with harsh criticism.

However, according to Associated Press, Erdogan told NTV television late Tuesday that Mehmet Gormez, who heads a government body regulating religious affairs, was a respected religious leader who deserved the same privileges as the pope.

Read: 'Know your place': Erdogan slams New York Times for 'meddling in Turkey's affairs'

The Turkish president said the pope "has a private jet, private cars and armored vehicles. That's the situation at the Vatican and our religious leader will take scheduled flights?"

Last week, Erdogan promised to allot a Mercedes to Gormez after the cleric returned one, following uproar over its expenditure.

Read: Erdogan’s grand palace: costly folly or symbol of new Turkey?

Erdogan himself has been criticised for living in a 1,000 room palace.

Known officially as the Presidential Palace but dubbed universally as the Aksaray (White Palace), the complex takes up an area of 200,000 square metres (2.1 million square feet), and draws its architectural inspiration from Turkey’s Ottoman and Seljuk heritage.