Shivakumar turns auto driver for a day, promises support

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: In an unusual move, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president DK Shivakumar on Thursday donned a driver’s uniform and drove an autorickshaw in support of protesters at the Palace Grounds here, assuring them necessary support when his party to comes to power in the upcoming Assembly elections.

Shivakumar was accompanied by Congress MLA from Shivajinagar Rizwan Arshad and other party leaders who joined the protesters at Palace Grounds. Auto drivers have been protesting against the operation of e-bike-taxis and other aggregators, who they say dig into their livelihood.

Shivakumar rode the antigovernment sentiment among auto drivers, reminding them that they had received nothing by way of compensation during the first Covid-induced lockdown starting in March 2020 and had to starve. “Our party leader Oscar Fernandes had suggested that we start a drivers’ wing in our party. We took his advice and started a driver’s unit in the party. Therefore, we have become members of your family,” Shivakumar said.

Referring to the lathi charge that auto drivers had to endure when they tried to surround Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai’s official residence earlier in the week, he promised to end police harassment when Congress came to power. “The Congress government is about to come to power. The direction of your struggle will bring change in the state in May,” the Karnataka Congress chief said.