Hyderabad, Nov 5 (IANS): Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president K. T. Rama Rao travelled in an auto-rickshaw in Hyderabad on Monday and participated in a dharna by auto-rickshaw drivers in support of their demands.

Rama Rao along with a couple of BRS MLAs reached Indira Park in an auto-rickshaw and participated in the protest by auto drivers.

The protest was held ahead of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s arrival in the city and it reminded him of the promises he had made to auto drivers during Assembly elections last year.

KTR, as Rama Rao is popularly known, recalled that Rahul Gandhi had travelled in an auto-rickshaw during the election campaign.

The BRS leader later also visited Paradise, the popular restaurant in Secunderabad, to have lunch along with his party colleagues. Rahul Gandhi had also tasted the famous ‘biryani’ and ‘chai’ at the same restaurant during the election campaign.

KTR asked what happened to Rahul Gandhi’s promise of constituting a welfare board for auto-rickshaw drivers and giving them an assistance of Rs 12,000 each every year.

The BRS leader said the Congress government should also pay Rs 5,000 per month to auto drivers to compensate for the losses they are suffering due to the implementation of the free bus travel scheme for women.

KTR alleged that the situation of auto-rickshaw drivers deteriorated after the Congress government came to power in the state. He said several auto drivers committed suicides due to lack of income and even a few of them sold their properties to pay their vehicle EMIs.

The BRS leader demanded ex-gratia for the families of those auto-rickshaw drivers who committed suicides.

KTR said auto drivers told him that they reaped the benefits of development during the last 10 years of BRS rule. “The auto drivers were then earning about Rs 2,000 every day. Today, they are not earning even Rs 200 to Rs 300,” he said.

He claimed that about 6.5 lakh auto drivers were living in miserable conditions.