AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday led a march towards the Prime Minister’s residence in Delhi carrying 2.38 lakh petitions against E20 petrol, but the delegation was stopped by Delhi Police near Firoz Shah Road, prompting the former Delhi chief minister and other party leaders to stage a sit-in on the road.
The petitions, collected through AAP’s nationwide campaign against ethanol-blended petrol, were later taken into police custody after the delegation was informed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would not meet them. Kejriwal subsequently said the petitions had been sent to the Prime Minister’s Office and warned that the party would intensify its campaign against the Centre’s E20 policy.
KEJRIWAL DEMANDS CHOICE BETWEEN PURE PETROL, E20
Kejriwal said AAP had sought an appointment with the prime minister a month ago but received no response. He repeated his demand that consumers should be allowed to choose between pure petrol and E20 at fuel stations.
“If E20 is to be promoted, then sell it at a lower price,” Kejriwal said, arguing that consumers should not be forced to use ethanol-blended fuel.
Addressing supporters before the march, he said, “We are going to the Prime Minister’s residence with over 2.30 lakh petitions signed by people from across the country. We want the government to listen to the concerns of crores of vehicle owners who are facing problems because of E20 petrol.”
The protest came days after AAP held an “Ethanol Town Hall” and launched a nationwide signature campaign against E20 fuel.
MARCH STOPPED NEAR FIROZ SHAH ROAD
The march began with around 100 people, including vehicle owners whom AAP said were affected by E20 petrol. Protesters carried bundles of petitions on their heads and raised slogans against the Centre’s ethanol-blended fuel policy.
Among the slogans were “Trump ki gulami band karo”, “Ethanol kharidna band karo” and “Petrol chor kaha milenge, BJP ke daftar mein”.
Kejriwal was joined by former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, AAP leader Jasmine Shah and other party leaders.
Police stopped the delegation near 5, Firoz Shah Road, where Kejriwal and the other leaders sat on the road with the petitions and insisted that the documents be accepted.
Police sources said the protesters would not be allowed to proceed beyond that point.
“No one will be allowed ahead of 5, Firoz Shah Road. We have deployed adequate security, including Delhi Police and paramilitary forces, to maintain law and order,” a police officer said.
Police later took custody of the petitions after informing the delegation that the prime minister would not meet them.
KEJRIWAL CALLS PM’S REFUSAL ‘DICTATORIAL’
After the protest, Kejriwal said on X that the delegation had been stopped from meeting the prime minister and that all the petitions had been sent to the Prime Minister’s Office.
At a press conference later, he called the refusal to meet the delegation a “dictatorial attitude”.
“We were marching with 2.38 lakh petitions. We had sought time from him, his response was — I won’t meet. This shows his dictatorial attitude,” Kejriwal said.
He also claimed that the government had admitted in Parliament that E20 leads to a drop in fuel efficiency and affects some engine components.
“His government has accepted drop in mileage, damage to rubber parts of engine,” he said.
KEJRIWAL TARGETS ETHANOL PURCHASES FROM US
Kejriwal also repeated his allegation that the Centre was pushing the E20 policy under pressure from US President Donald Trump.
“I urge PM Modi to stop buying ethanol from USA. The entire country is suffering,” he said.
In a post on X after the march, Kejriwal said, “Today, we tried to meet Modi ji by collecting more than 2 lakh petitions from the public against E20, but Modi ji’s police stopped us. We have sent all the petitions to Modi ji.”
“Modi ji, what will it achieve by showing us your power? Show this courage to Trump instead and stop imposing E20 on the country. Otherwise, the country will be forced to launch another major movement,” he said.
Kejriwal also urged citizens to launch a major agitation against ethanol if they wanted to get rid of it.
“If you want to get rid of Ethanol, big agitation like NEET-UG needs to be started by citizens of this country,” he said.
AAP PLANS ANTI-E20 RESOLUTIONS IN MORE STATES
Kejriwal said AAP would take its campaign against E20 into state legislatures as well.
“Punjab Assembly has passed the resolution against E20 petrol. Our MLAs in Goa, Gujarat and J&K will move same resolution,” he said.
AAP said its legislators in Gujarat, Goa and Jammu and Kashmir would move resolutions seeking withdrawal of the E20 policy, following the resolution already passed by the Punjab Assembly.
The party has maintained that consumers should have the option of choosing between pure petrol and E20 and has called for a review of the blended fuel policy.
Tuesday’s march ended with the delegation being stopped by police and the petitions being handed over, but Kejriwal said the campaign would continue. He warned that if the government did not respond to the concerns being raised over E20 petrol, AAP could launch a larger public movement against the policy.
– Ends
