New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener Arvind Kejriwal alleged on Friday that the BJP-led Centre had rolled out the E20 fuel-blending programme under pressure from US President Donald Trump to open the door to large-scale imports of American ethanol.
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Speaking to reporters, the former Delhi chief minister alleged that the government had forced through the E20 policy without upgrading infrastructure or verifying that vehicles already on the road could run on the higher ethanol blend.
"The Narendra Modi government is unable to withstand pressure from Donald Trump. America is the largest producer of ethanol, but is unable to consume all of it. To create demand for American ethanol, India is being forced to implement E20 and import the substance from the US," he claimed.
Kejriwal claimed India had bought one billion litres of ethanol from the US last year and would import five billion litres this year, alleging the policy was designed to create a market for surplus American ethanol. He added that the US itself had not adopted E20 nationwide and continued to rely largely on lower ethanol blends.
The AAP leader said the Centre had allowed only three years to roll out E20 after announcing the policy in 2022, a timeline he called inadequate for overhauling fuel storage, transport infrastructure and vehicles.
"Petrol pumps were not redesigned, storage tanks were not upgraded, oil tankers were not modified, and millions of vehicles on the road are not compatible with E20. Yet the government imposed it across the country," he alleged.
He claimed ethanol was costlier than petrol and delivered lower mileage, questioning the logic of the policy. Kejriwal alleged that nearly 30 crore vehicles built before 2023 — about 22 crore two-wheelers and eight crore cars — were not designed to run on E20.
Claiming the Centre was preparing to bring in higher blends such as E30 and E40, Kejriwal urged people to hold off on buying petrol and diesel vehicles.
"My appeal to people is that they should stop buying petrol and diesel vehicles for now. Today you may buy an E20-compliant vehicle, and tomorrow the government may introduce E30 or E40. Until the government clearly spells out its long-term policy, people should not invest in petrol or diesel vehicles," he said.
He also challenged the government's assertion that E20 had been introduced after extensive testing, demanding that the study reports be made public.
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Kejriwal said the AAP had held a nationwide online town hall against the E20 policy and launched an online petition. Tying the issue to the 2027 Goa Assembly Elections, he urged voters to defeat the BJP, claiming an electoral reverse would compel the Centre to roll back E20. He also criticised the Congress, alleging that a vote for the party would not change the policy.