Now Reading: Rahul Gandhi vows mass protest over E20 fuel policy
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Rahul Gandhi vows mass protest over E20 fuel policy
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday announced a major campaign against the Centre’s nationwide rollout of E20 petrol, alleging it is damaging vehicles and burdening consumers. In a video message, Gandhi said…
The Story in Brief
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday announced a major campaign against the Centre’s nationwide rollout of E20 petrol, alleging it is damaging vehicles and burdening consumers. In a video message, Gandhi said the issue is “destroying people’s cars, destroying people’s scooters, destroying people’s lives”. He said the party will raise it aggressively across forums.
E20 petrol contains 20% ethanol and 80% petrol. The government defends the policy as a way to cut crude oil imports and emissions. But older vehicle owners report engine trouble and falling mileage. The AAP has also protested, demanding consumer choice. The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) recently withdrew an earlier advisory warning of damage from contaminated ethanol-blended fuel, saying the data needed more verification.
The Indian Opinion
Both the BJP and the Congress are now weaponising E20 as a political football, but neither side is honestly addressing the real issue. This isn’t about being pro- or anti-ethanol; it’s about a poorly managed transition. The government admits E20 cuts mileage by 2-6%, yet offers consumers no option to choose conventional petrol. The Congress, on the other hand, brands the policy as outright theft, without quantifying the number of verified vehicle failures. The test that matters is not the next rally but the next independent audit of service centre data across states.
Sources (3): hindustantimes.com, nationalheraldindia.com, thefederal.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 3 sources.
