Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday launched an online signature campaign against the rollout of E20 petrol, urging people to sign a petition addressed to the Prime Minister seeking greater consumer choice in fuel options.
The campaign, hosted on StopE20petrol.com, calls for consumers to be given the option of choosing between conventional petrol, E10 and E20 fuel at petrol pumps.
Announcing the initiative, Kejriwal alleged that the Centre was implementing E20 petrol without adequate preparation and claimed that vehicle owners had raised concerns over reduced fuel efficiency, engine performance and higher maintenance costs.
He said the government should allow consumers to decide which fuel they wish to purchase instead of offering only E20 petrol. According to Kejriwal, people have demanded that petrol pumps continue supplying conventional petrol alongside ethanol-blended variants.
The AAP leader also argued that E20 fuel has lower energy content than conventional petrol, leading to lower mileage, while claiming that its price has not been reduced to reflect the difference.
Kejriwal said party workers had interacted with vehicle owners at petrol pumps and service centres over the past few days, during which several people allegedly complained of lower mileage and increased expenditure on servicing and repairs after using E20 petrol.
{{/usCountry}}Kejriwal said party workers had interacted with vehicle owners at petrol pumps and service centres over the past few days, during which several people allegedly complained of lower mileage and increased expenditure on servicing and repairs after using E20 petrol.
{{/usCountry}}He claimed some consumers had reported issues relating to fuel pumps, injectors and engine performance, although the Centre has maintained that E20-compatible vehicles are designed to operate on the blended fuel.
Through the online campaign, the AAP is seeking public support for a petition asking the Centre to halt what it described as the "forced implementation" of E20 petrol until consumers are provided with alternatives.
The petition also demands that if E20 continues to be supplied, consumers should have the option to purchase conventional petrol and that the price of E20 fuel should be lower than regular petrol.
The campaign comes as ethanol blending remains a key component of the Centre's strategy to reduce crude oil imports and increase the use of domestically produced biofuels.