Mother Teresa received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 (File).
New Delhi:
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra – making her electoral debut in next month’s Wayanad Lok Sabha by-poll – invoked the memory of humanitarian icon and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mother Teresa Monday morning as she began her campaign, and shared, for the first time she said, the story of how she “washed bathrooms… cleaned vessels… (and) taught children a bit of English”.
Ms Gandhi spoke about Mother Teresa’s 1991 visit – after her father and ex-Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated – and the invitation to work with her charitable organisation’s Delhi unit.
“… when I was 19 years old my father had just died and Mother Teresa came to meet my mother (ex-Congress chief and now Rajya Sabha MP Sonia Gandhi). On that day I had a fever and was in my room… but she 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…” Ms Gandhi said.
“This is the first time I am speaking about this in public… but there is a context. My job was to teach and, on Tuesdays, we washed bathrooms, cleaned vessels, and took the children outside. 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,” the Congress leader said.
Ms Gandhi’s recollection, she said, was prompted by last week’s visit to an ex-soldier’s home and a meeting with elderly mother, Thresia, who also put a rosary in her hand 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 told voters at her rally.
Ms Gandhi also referred to her brother, Rahul Gandhi, who defended the Wayanad seat in the April-June general election (he secured nearly 60 per cent of the votes) but resigned in June after also winning the family stronghold of Raebareli in Uttar Pradesh, a seat earlier held by Sonia Gandhi.
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“I know (many of) you came to hear me because of your love for my brother. I am his sister and 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… each one of you… who gave him courage. You are his family,” she said.
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Wayanad votes on November 13. Nearly 50 other Assembly and Lok Sabha by-polls will be held next month, with the first phase of the Jharkhand election on Nov 13 and the second on Nov 20.
The Maharashtra election will be held on Nov 20.
The results for all these elections will be announced on Nov 23.
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