Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday shared a light-hearted anecdote about his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, crediting Wayanad with resolving a sibling standoff faster than any peace negotiation.Rahul Gandhi, who was speaking at the foundation stone-laying ceremony for houses being built by the party for victims of the 2024 Wayanad landslide, reflected on his 22 years in politics, arguing that politicians should be more open and transparent about themselves.“I have been in politics since 2004, almost 22 years. As you progress, you begin to change the way you think about things. One thing I strongly believe is that politicians should be more open about themselves and more transparent about what is going on,” he said.Calling the people of Wayanad his extended family, Rahul Gandhi let the audience in on a recent domestic deadlock. “My sister wasn’t talking to me yesterday,” he said, adding that the silence was serious enough to warrant a mention to his mother, Sonia Gandhi.“When my mother asked how my sister was, I told her she was upset and not speaking to me,” he said. Rahul then revealed his masterstroke: planning a joint trip to Wayanad. “I told my mother I had trapped her. Once she came to Wayanad, she couldn’t continue not talking to me.”The plan, he admitted, didn’t work immediately. Priyanka remained unimpressed on the flight. “But the moment we reached Wayanad, she started talking to me again. That is the magic of Wayanad,” Rahul added.Rahul Gandhi, who previously represented Wayanad in Lok Sabha, vacated the seat after winning from both the Kerala constituency and Rae Bareily in Uttar Pradesh in the 2024 elections. The constituency is now represented by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
