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Aam Aadmi Party national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday announced that he would lead a march to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's official residence on August 4, escalating his campaign against the government's E20 policy.
He said he would lead a hundred-member delegation of volunteers "not afraid of police batons" to submit a petition signed by over two lakh citizens. Addressing a townhall programme outside the Constitution Club in New Delhi, Kejriwal said, "Earlier, I asked you to sign a petition addressed to the Prime Minister. More than 2,00,000 people have signed it online, and I have taken printouts of those signatures. On Tuesday, the 4th, at 12:00 PM, I will personally go to the Prime Minister's residence to hand over the petition." Kejriwal further said that there is no need for a larger turnout, but those who are not scared of police action would be taken. "There is no need for everyone to come along. I will take 100 people with me who are not afraid of police batons. I will take 100 people with me who are not afraid of going to jail. Those who wish to join should write to me, tag me and send me a message. We will take 100 people with us, march toward the Prime Minister's residence, and then see what happens," he said. The march would be the latest escalation in AAP's campaign against the Centre's E20 fuel policy. During the programme, Kejriwal put forward three demands on the issue to the Centre: there should be an option for E20 and pure petrol at petrol pumps, E20 should be cheaper than pure petrol, and the price of petrol should be less than 84 rupees/litre. He also urged people to halt their purchase of vehicles until vehicles compatible with E100 are manufactured in the country. I appeal to the people of my country to stop buying petrol and diesel vehicles. Until E100 vehicles start being manufactured in the country, do not buy a vehicle. This government will ruin you," he said on X. Earlier today, he questioned the inconsistency of the Union Ministry's statements regarding the petrol-blended ethanol policy, claiming that no significant study has been conducted on the subject. He further declared that the E20 policy is being forcibly implemented on the people. "On one side they say E20 is good, on the other side they say E20 is bad. One ministry says there is a difference of 2 per cent to 5 per cent, while another ministry says 4 per cent. They haven't conducted any study; they are just forcing the policy onto the people... Vehicles are getting damaged and mileage is dropping. Why is the Government forcing this on people? What is the interest of Govt in this? E20 petrol is not good," Kejriwal told reporters. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas had on Thursday refuted what it termed as "misleading claims" regarding ethanol-blended petrol (E20), asserting that there is "no verified evidence of widespread engine damage" linked to the fuel following years of scientific vetting and real-world usage across crores of vehicles. Addressing concerns raised on social media platforms, the ministry clarified that its conclusions stem from over 25 years of phased implementation, continuous field tracking, and exhaustive stakeholder consultations. The Central Government said E15-plus petrol has been deployed for over three and a half years, while E19-E20 fuel has been in circulation for more than two and a half years and over 20 crore two-wheelers and more than 3 crore petrol cars have operated on these fuel blends successfully without verified systemic failures. (ANI)
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