‘Your vote is for peace, democracy and equality’: Priyanka Gandhi in Wayanad

Wayanad: Congress-led UDF candidate Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday began her byelection campaign in the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency by launching a scathing attack on the Centre, alleging that the values of the Constitution are constantly being subverted. She urged the people to vote for peace, democracy and equality in India.

On Monday, she has public meetings at three of the seven Assembly constituencies that fall in the Wayanad Lok Sabha and on Tuesday she will address four meetings before leaving for Delhi.

Her first stop was at Meenagandi and then at Panamaram and the topic at both meetings was the same as she reminded the people about the need for voting for the Congress.

“You know the times we are living in when the BJP is in Centre, where fear, anger and mistrust are spread among the people. You have seen the attacks against minorities and seen what has happened in Manipur. The values of the Constitution are thwarted and policies after policies are made to make the friends of the PM happy...Today we are fighting a very big battle and Rahul Gandhi is leading that battle. All of us are fighting for the values of this country to be built. We are fighting for the values of our constitution. Today we are fighting for democracy equality, and truth and each one of you is an important soldier for this. So please understand that along with me you also have a responsibility towards the country. As if there is a time to stand up for truth and democracy the time is now,” said Priyanka Gandhi.

“Each one of you with one vote of yours can stand up for it. On my way, journalists asked me what my expectations were as to how many lakhs votes I would get. But I expect to look into your hearts and recognize what has happened as your vote is for peace, democracy equality for India. If you choose to elect me as your MP, I will work as hard as possible to do my best. I will stand side by side with you and raise your issues. You give me your trust and I will not let you down,” said the Congress general secretary.

She said the love the people in Wayanad are giving her makes her hugely indebted to all. She then recalled an episode with Mother Teresa and related it with the way she walked into the house of an ex-serviceman’s home last Tuesday and met his aged mother Thresia when she came to file her nomination.

“When I was sitting next to Thresia who gave me the rosary, it reminded me of when I was 19 years old, my father had just died and Mother Teresa came to meet my mother. On that day I had a fever and was in my room. She wanted to meet me and put her hand on my head and just like Thresia gave a rosary in my hand, she also did the same. She might have realized that since my father had died I was sad and going through troubled times. Mother Teresa said to me, “you come and work with me. So I went to work with the sisters of Mother Teresa in Delhi, I started to teach the children a bit of English and Hindi. This is the first time am speaking about this in public but there is a context...So my job was to teach the children and on Tuesday we washed the bathrooms, cleaned the vessels, taught the children to paint, and took them outside. By working with them I understood the pain and trouble they faced and also what it meant to serve. Then I learned how a community can help,” said Priyanka Gandhi. (IANS)

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