Kejriwal to march to PM Modi's residence over Centre's E20 fuel policy

Upping the ante against the Centre over its E20 policy, AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Monday (July 3) announced that he will lead a march to PM Modi’s official residence with 100 people to submit petitions over the issue.

Speaking to reporters, the former Delhi Chief Minister further alleged the government is pushing for the fuel blend as it has yielded to US President Donald Trump to buy the ethanol from the US. Kejriwal alleged that the Centre’s relentless push for E20 petrol shows that there was a "hidden agenda".

March to PM's residence

"I will go to PM's residence tomorrow along with 100 people to personally hand over the petitions signed by the public and discuss issues related to ethanol-blended petrol. People are facing several problems in their vehicles despite all that the government is continuing with this, which means there is a hidden agenda," Kejriwal said at a press conference.

Also Read: E20 fuel cuts emissions but trims mileage by 2-6 pc, Gadkari tells Lok Sabha

"People are saying that PM Modi is under pressure from Trump to buy ethanol from the United States," he added.

Elaborating further, the former Delhi Chief Minister said that he would personally hand over the petitions to PM Modi after receiving no response to a letter he had sent to the prime minister last month seeking an appointment to discuss concerns over E20 petrol.

On letter to PM

In his letter, Kejriwal had sought the availability of options for both pure petrol and E20 fuel at petrol stations, besides demanding a reduction in the price of ethanol-blended petrol.

Also Read: E20 protest: Hardeep Puri holds talks with Team Bharat, Poonawalla detained next day

"We did not get any response on the letter, so now we will personally hand over the petition to PM Modi. We had launched a petition campaign against ethanol-blended petrol. More than 2 lakh people have signed this petition," he added.

Referring to his earlier townhall meeting over E20, Kejriwal termed it as a "huge success", with several people joining the meeting virtually.

Congress joins protests

Meanwhile, during the day, Youth Congress workers held a protest in Nagpur over the E20 issue and attempted to march to the residence of Union Minister Nitin Gadkari in order to 'gherao' it, but were stopped by the police, resulting in several participants being detained.

The 'morcha' was held from Chitnivis Park Square in Mahal here till Gadkari's private residence in the same area, with Youth Congress workers shouting slogans about the unviability of E20 fuel.

Also Read: Why is E20 policy report not in public domain if it's beneficial for India?: Tahseen Poonawala

There was heavy deployment of police personnel near the Union minister's house along with barricades on the route, though protesters tried to climb over them to proceed.

Several Congress workers were detained, police officials said.

Gadkari under fire

The Congress has been targeting Gadkari on the issue of E20 fuel, claiming that his reply in Parliament on July 29 on the nationwide rollout of E20 petrol raises more questions than it answers.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh on Monday said Gadkari claims E20 has been rolled out after years of scientific testing and that there is no evidence of widespread vehicle damage.

"For months now, consumers and mechanics across the country have been reporting: reduced mileage; engine performance issues; concerns over the long-term impact of E20 fuel on their vehicles; engine compatibility, cold-start problems, and accelerated wear and tear in pre-2023 vehicles; increasing instances of clogged injectors, corroded fuel lines and cracked rubber components in older vehicles," stated Ramesh on X.

(With agency inputs)