Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday (August 4, 2026) warned the Centre that the country will be pushed to launch another major movement if it doesn’t stop forcing the E20-blended petrol on its citizens.
The AAP chief also alleged that the Union Government was imposing E20 petrol on the country under pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to “stand up” to the former.
“PM Modi, what is the point of showing your strength against us? Show the same courage in front of Trump and stop imposing E20 on the country. Otherwise, the nation will once again be compelled to launch a major movement,” Mr. Kejriwal said.
Earlier in the day, Mr. Kejriwal led a march of around 100 people towards the PM’s residence, but was stopped by security forces.
“We had gone today to submit 2.3 lakh petitions to the Prime Minister. A month ago, we had sought time to discuss the forceful imposition of the E20-blended petrol issue with him, but we received no response. Today, when we went to hand over the petitions, we were informed that he would not meet us. This reflects the dictatorial attitude,” Mr. Kejriwal said.
He accused Mr. Modi of demonstrating the same “dictatorship” attitude he had shown against the NEET protests.
The march, which began from the AAP headquarters on Pandit Ravi Shankar Shukla Lane, covered barely 1 km before being stopped near 5, Ferozshah Road.
The police had put up barricades at two locations, including the main blockade near 5, Ferozshah Road and another close to the Mandi House roundabout, preventing protesters from advancing towards the Prime Minister’s residence.
As protesters approached the barricades, police repeatedly announced over loudspeakers that prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) were in force and declared the march unlawful.
In a tense standoff that followed, the protesters continued to raise slogans while senior police officers held negotiations with AAP leaders. The police also denied a request to allow a small delegation to proceed to the PM’s residence to submit a representation against the E20 policy.
However, the impasse ended without any major confrontation after Delhi Police arranged for a police vehicle to carry the protesters’ memorandum to the Prime Minister’s residence.
The petition demanded to provide a choice between pure petrol and E20 at fuel stations, so that people are not forced to use fuel that “damages” vehicles. It also urged the government to reduce the price of E20 petrol to reflect the lower calorific value and reduced mileage it delivers.
The AAP chief also alleged that the Indian farmers are not benefitting from the shift to E20 petrol.
“Ethanol there (U.S.) is produced from maize, and American farmers have put tremendous pressure on Trump. Trump, in turn, put pressure on PM Modi to buy ethanol to protect American farmers. Our farmers are not benefitting at all. So, fundamentally, this entire exercise is being carried out solely under Trump’s pressure because our Prime Minister is a weak Prime Minister,” he said.
Senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia, who was also present at the march, said, “The issue of E20 is about forcing ethanol into the vehicles of 30 crore people across the country. Crores of people are saying that it is damaging their vehicles, reducing mileage, harming engines and increasing servicing costs. When the public is suffering such huge losses, why is PM Modi still adamant about it?”
(With inputs from Lavpreet Kaur)
Published - August 04, 2026 03:50 pm IST
petrol / diesel fuel / demonstration / Aam Aadmi Party / Bharatiya Janata Party
Source: The Hindu - India News
