Hyderabad: Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working President KT Rama Rao (KTR) launched a scathing attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and the Telangana government, accusing them of betraying the state’s auto drivers with unfulfilled promises.
Recalling Rahul Gandhi’s 2023 election campaign, KTR said the Congress leader had met and traveled with auto drivers, pledging to establish an auto drivers’ welfare board and to provide Rs 12,000 annual financial assistance to each driver. “Two years later, not a single promise has been fulfilled,” KTR alleged.
Sharing a poignant example, KTR said he met Mashrat Ali, the same auto owner who drove Rahul Gandhi during his Hyderabad visit two years ago. “Once the proud owner of two autos, Ali has now been forced to sell both and works as a daily-wage driver, renting an auto for Rs 400 per day. He told me he used to earn Rs 2,500 daily but now struggles to make Rs 1,000,” KTR said.
Calling it a story of “deception, despair, and betrayal,” KTR accused the Congress government of neglecting working-class citizens. “Rahul Gandhi promised to deliver within 100 days. It’s been two years — 161 auto drivers have taken their own lives due to the government’s apathy,” he said.
KTR further said Rahul Gandhi’s rhetoric on compassion and justice rings hollow when promises to poor auto drivers remain unfulfilled. “When you can’t honor your word to the poor, you lose the moral right to speak about equality,” he remarked.
He demanded that the Congress government immediately constitute an auto drivers’ welfare board and release the promised financial support. “Words don’t feed families — promises must be honoured. Telangana’s auto drivers deserve respect and relief, not deceit,” KTR asserted, adding the BRS would continue to fight for their cause.