Bengaluru: Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra became emotional on Monday when she said her mother Mrs Sonia Gandhi initially struggled to learn Indian traditions and disliked politics.
Addressing a women-centric convention organised by the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee in the poll-bound State, she said: “She (Sonia) came all the way from Italy to India to get married to him. She struggled to learn our traditions. She learnt the ways of India. She imbibed everything from Indiraji and at age 44, she lost her husband. Even though she disliked politics, she took the path to serve the nation and she served it all her life till today when she is 76 years old.”
Going personal, Mrs Vadra said her mother fell in love with Mr Rajiv Gandhi at age 21.
She recalled she was eight-year-old when Mrs Indira Gandhi lost her 33-year-old son. But the very next day of Mr Sanjay Gandhi's death, her grandmother went to work to serve the nation. “That was the sense of duty and her ‘inner shakti’,” she said.
Mrs Vadra said she was brought up by two brave and strong women — her grandmother Indira Gandhi and mother Sonia Gandhi.
