Kejriwal Offers ‘Solution’ to Force E20 Rollback; BJP Says, 'Start With Punjab and Lead by Example'

New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal has proposed a political strategy to compel the central government to reverse the E20 ethanol-blended petrol policy, while the BJP has challenged him to first implement the change in Punjab, where his party is in power.

In a post on X, Kejriwal wrote, “There is one simple solution to make the govt roll back E20: Come together to defeat the BJP in the Goa election and break their overconfidence. I guarantee the govt will withdraw E20 within five days of the election result.”

BJP IT Cell head Amit Malviya responded by sharing Kejriwal’s post and stating: “Let’s start with Punjab. You still have a government in the state. If you are so convinced that E20 is harmful, withdraw it from Punjab within the next five days.”

“Lead by example instead of spreading misinformation. If you won’t implement your own prescription where you govern, why should anyone take your claims seriously?,” Malviya added.

The exchange emphasises the ongoing political tussle over the E20 policy, with Kejriwal linking its potential rollback to electoral outcomes in Goa and the BJP urging AAP to act in the state it currently governs.

In another X post, Malviya shared a 2007 statement of P Chidambaram, former Finance Minister of India, declaring that India had “commenced a major bio-diesel programme including mandatory blending of ethanol in petrol” as part of the country’s commitment to sustainability and clean development.

Malviya shared a post by Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on E20 and reacted to the matter: “The same objective, when pursued with determination by Prime Minister Modi’s government, is suddenly portrayed by the very same ecosystem as something sinister. So which is it? If mandatory ethanol blending was a matter of national interest, energy security and clean development in 2007, how does implementing that very policy become unacceptable after 2014? The policy hasn’t changed. The politics has. This is yet another example of how the Congress and its ecosystem oppose not the idea, but the government that successfully delivers on it.”

In a video message released on X, Gandhi targeted the policy by twisting the popular Hindi idiom "daal mein kuch kaala hai" (implying something is suspicious) to argue that the entire system surrounding the fuel shift is rotten and corrupt. His remarks came amid the ongoing controversy over the nationwide rollout of petrol blended with 20 per cent ethanol.

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