Mother Teresa, 2 rosaries, and cleaning bathrooms: Priyanka opens up to Wayanad

Life seems to have come full circle for Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who is all set to make her electoral debut from Kerala’s Wayanad next month.

Way back in 1991, at the tender age of 19, in grief and ailing, she received a rosary from none other than Mother Teresa. A similar moment came for her again last week, when she received another rosary — again from a mother with a similar-sounding name, Thresia.

Learning lessons

Narrating the events during her first poll campaign in Wayanad on Monday (October 28), Priyanka said she learned something from both experiences. While her volunteering work with the Missionaries of Charity after meeting Mother Teresa taught her the “pain and trouble” of destitute children, her experience this time taught her “the needs of the people”.

Also read: Priyanka's open letter to Wayanad voters: 'Will be deeply grateful if you make me MP'

Priyanka said it was the first time she was speaking about the visit from Mother Teresa and her subsequent work with the Missionaries of Charity in public. The context was her experience with Thresia, the elderly mother of a former soldier, last week.

Working with Missionaries of Charity

She said the Nobel Peace Prize laureate came to visit her mother, Congress’s Rajya Sabha MP Sonia Gandhi, in 1991, shortly after the assassination of her father and former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.

“On that day, I had a fever and was in my room... but she [Mother Teresa] came to meet me, put her hand on my head, and... put a rosary in my hand. She might have realised that since my father died, I was sad and troubled. She told me... ‘You come and work with me.’ So, I worked with the sisters of Mother Teresa in Delhi,” Priyanka narrated.

Watch: In Wayanad, CPI’s Sathyan Mokeri takes on Priyanka Gandhi

When Priyanka washed bathrooms

Priyanka said her job was to teach and she taught the children “a bit of English”, while on Tuesdays, they “washed bathrooms, cleaned vessels, and took the children outside”. She went on, “By working with them I understood the pain and trouble they faced and what it means to serve. It was then that I learned how a community can help.”

She said the memory came back to her when she received a rosary again, this time from Thresia — for good luck.

“Now I am beginning to understand what the needs of people are... This is just the beginning. I want to come and meet you, and hear from all of you to find out what your problems are. I want to understand what my responsibilities are,” she said at the rally.

Wayanad, Rahul’s “family”

Priyanka is contesting the Wayanad bypolls after the Lok Sabha seat fell vacant as her brother Rahul Gandhi, who won both UP’s Raebareli and Wayanad in the June general elections, opted to retain the former.

Also read: ‘Campaigned for others for 35 years, doing first time for myself’: Priyanka in Wayanad

“I know many of you came to my rally because of your love for my brother… I know what a heavy heart he had when he left you. You gave him love when everyone turned their back on him. It is you who gave him courage. You are his family,” Priyanka said.

The Wayanad bypoll will be held on November 13, along with the first phase of Jharkhand Assembly polls. The Maharashtra Assembly polls and second phase of Jharkhand polls will be held on November 20. Many other Lok Sabha and Assembly seats will also vote in the bypolls along with these. The results will be declared on November 23.