‘Income meter has stopped, inflation brakes have failed’: Rahul Gandhi flags autorickshaw drivers’ distress

Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Saturday attacked the Narendra Modi government over the economic hardships faced by autorickshaw drivers, alleging that rising inflation and stagnant incomes had pushed millions of working-class families into distress.

The Congress leader made the remarks while sharing a video on X of his interaction with autorickshaw drivers in Delhi a day earlier.

Quoting one of the drivers he met, Gandhi said: “‘We have been ruined and there is no one to listen.’ An auto-rickshaw driver shared this sentiment over lunch yesterday. In that single sentence lay the entire story of millions of poor people across the country.”

Using a driving metaphor, Gandhi said the economic condition of workers had deteriorated sharply.

“The income meter has ground to a halt. The brakes on inflation have failed. And the government — the very entity meant to listen — remains deaf,” he said.

The former Congress president alleged that rising costs were affecting every aspect of daily life for working families.

“From CNG to LPG, from children's education to medical treatment, and from milk to cooking oil — every rising rupee deals a direct blow to their budgets and their kitchens,” he said.

Taking aim at the Prime Minister, Gandhi said that while inflation continued to rise, people were receiving little relief.

“Amidst this soaring inflation, Modi-ji offers a piece of advice: ‘Use public transport.’ Yet, the very people who constitute the backbone of public transport are today crumbling under the crushing weight of rising prices,” he said.

He added that uncertainty over basic survival had become a daily reality for many families.

“Today, alongside the ‘roti’ and ‘dal’ on their plates, there lies a haunting question: ‘Where will tomorrow’s meal come from?’” Gandhi said.

The remarks came a day after Gandhi met a group of autorickshaw drivers at Todarmal Park in Delhi’s Bengali Market area.

During the interaction, the Congress leader listened to drivers describe the challenges of earning a livelihood amid rising costs and assured them that he would raise their concerns in Parliament.

Photographs and videos shared by the Congress showed Gandhi wearing an autorickshaw driver's uniform, interacting with drivers and their families, taking selfies with children and sharing a meal with the workers.

After the interaction, he was seen leaving the venue in an autorickshaw.