HDK promises to make an auto driver MLC, if voted to power

JD(S) state president H D Kumaraswamy on Wednesday said that if his government came to power, he would nominate an autorickshaw or a cab driver to the Legislative Council.

He said that instead of nominating an individual from the film industry, his government would lend such an opportunity to a driver.

Participating in an interaction with autorickshaw, cab and lorry drivers in Bengaluru, Kumaraswamy said that he had plans of launching a cab service company on the lines of cab aggregators Ola and Uber, if the JD(S) wins the upcoming elections and forms a government.

He said that he would implement these promises within a month of forming the government.

Assuring that his government would ensure facilities such as housing, healthcare and quality education to the wards of the drivers, Kumaraswamy said that he would also work towards putting a stop to police harassment against drivers.

Gets emotional

Earlier, Kumaraswamy turned emotional and shed tears, when a cab driver from Hoskote and his wife called him their "god". Cab driver Sampangi and his wife Sandhya Rani said that they had decided to commit suicide, unable to meet their two-year-old daughter Monica's treatment cost of Rs 30 lakh.

Monica, who is now 10, was diagnosed with chronic granulomatous disease. "We reached out to many film stars and politicians, but nobody came to our aid. But when he reached out to Kumaraswamy, he helped us immediately. He is like our God," the couple said.