The Karnataka ethanol blending dispute intensified on Monday as Congress workers staged protests at petrol pumps across Bengaluru, alleging that ethanol levels in petrol had exceeded the prescribed 20 per cent limit and demanding an immediate investigation into fuel quality.
The demonstrations were led by Congress leader S Manohar at locations including Nehru Circle and outside Mantri Mall in Malleswaram. Protesters displayed posters and sought to alert motorists to what they described as excessive ethanol blending. They used the term “E420” to allege that fuel being sold as E20 contained substantially more ethanol than the stated limit.
The Congress claimed that petrol samples tested by the Karnataka government showed ethanol content ranging from 21 to 30 per cent, while some claims put the level above 35 per cent. The party said the alleged excess blending was taking place at the distributor level rather than at individual petrol pumps.
Manohar said the alleged laboratory findings demonstrated the scale of the issue and repeated the party’s demand that the Centre suspend the ethanol blending programme. Referring to earlier remarks by Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, he said blending should be restricted to 20 per cent.
The party also alleged that excessive ethanol in petrol could reduce vehicle mileage and damage engines and spare parts, increasing financial costs for motorists. It demanded that consumers be supplied fuel strictly according to prescribed specifications and called for petrol to be supplied without ethanol blending.
Karnataka Minister for Food, Civil Supplies, Consumer Affairs and Legal Metrology Rizwan Arshad said the state government had followed the prescribed procedures for collecting and testing samples. He challenged oil marketing companies to explain the actual ethanol content found in 63 samples collected from petrol pumps across the state.
Arshad also said he would release documents related to the issue. Chief Minister D K Shivakumar has raised concerns over the alleged blending levels, according to the report, while the state government’s position has placed the testing process and the responsibility of oil marketing companies at the centre of the dispute.
The allegations were rejected by BJP MP Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraj Wadiyar, who said in Mysuru that the issue had already been discussed and that the Centre had provided a complete explanation. He accused the Congress of raising the matter to divert attention from rising prices.
Wadiyar also dismissed claims that ethanol blending would damage engines or cause vehicles to stop functioning, calling those allegations false. The competing claims leave the results and interpretation of the 63 state-collected samples as the immediate factual issue for motorists and fuel suppliers. The next step is the release of the documents promised by the Karnataka government and a response from the oil marketing companies on the reported ethanol content.
