Arvind Kejriwal to march to PM's residence on Aug 4 on E20 petrol issue

Stepping up his campaign against the use of E20 petrol, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday announced that he would march to the Prime Minister's residence on August 4 to submit a petition containing two lakh signatures collected through an online campaign.

Addressing a "National Town Hall Against E20" at the Constitution Club of India here, Kejriwal said he would start the march at 12 noon on Tuesday with 100 volunteers.

The Aam Aadmi Party national convenor appealed to those willing to accompany him to inform him through social media and said he expected to be allowed to proceed up to the same point where the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, was recently "permitted" during a march to the Prime Minister's residence.

"A few days ago, I appealed to people to sign a petition addressed to the Prime Minister. More than two lakh people have signed it online. I will personally take the petition to the Prime Minister's residence," he said.

Kejriwal also pressed three demands over the roll-out of E20 fuel.

He said consumers should be given the option to choose between E20 and regular petrol at fuel stations, E20 should be priced lower than petrol and petrol prices should be reduced.

He also urged the Centre to make public the study it has cited to support the use of E20 fuel.

"The Centre says studies have been conducted and E20 does not harm vehicles. I want them to share that report," he said.

AAP organised the "national town hall" to discuss concerns over E20 fuel. Participants from different states attended the event and shared their experiences and concerns regarding the use of the blended fuel.

Kejriwal said the petitions collected through the campaign would be submitted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as part of the party's demand for greater transparency and a review of the policy.

The government has defended its ethanol blending programme, saying extensive testing and large-scale field experience had found no evidence that E20 (blended with 20 per cent ethanol) petrol causes abnormal engine wear, corrosion or reduced vehicle life, while arguing that the programme has strengthened India's energy security and helped cushion consumers from global oil price volatility.