BRS MLA T. Harish Rao on Monday, October 27, strongly criticized the Congress-led Telangana government for failing to deliver on its pre-election promise to auto drivers. He demanded the immediate release of ₹24,000 to each auto driver, pointing out that the Congress had earlier pledged ₹12,000 annually but has not implemented it even after nearly two years in power. Harish Rao, seen travelling in an auto rickshaw at Erragadda, interacted directly with the drivers to understand their growing struggles under the current regime.

The former Finance Minister expressed concern over the alarming rise in suicides among auto drivers, revealing that 161 have lost their lives since the Congress took charge. He urged the government to grant ₹10 lakh in compensation to the families of the deceased and appealed to the drivers not to resort to such extreme steps. Rao accused the Congress of betraying the working class with hollow promises, saying, “Rahul Gandhi and Revanth Reddy made false commitments just to win votes, but failed to deliver any relief to the people.”

Drawing a sharp comparison, Harish Rao highlighted that while the government is earning thousands of crores from liquor license fees, it continues to neglect the needs of auto drivers. He estimated that fulfilling the two-year pending dues would cost ₹1,500 crore — a fraction of what the state earns through liquor tenders. BRS working president K. T. Rama Rao also joined the symbolic protest, riding an auto from Jubilee Hills Checkpost to Telangana Bhavan to express solidarity with the city’s struggling drivers.