New Delhi (India) November 7: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Saturday that petrol samples collected from seven districts in Karnataka had laboratory tests confirming petrol companies supply fuel with ethanol content above 20%.

Gandhi said, "E20 turned into 420- stealing petrol from the public's cars!”

Rahul Gandhi Raises Petrol Issue

Gandhi said that 11 of the 14 petrol samples analyzed at an accredited laboratory had levels of more than 20 per cent ethanol. The samples of Petrol bought from IOCL and HPCL have ethanol readings of 31.2 per cent and 30.5 per cent respectively, Gandhi said in a post on social media platform X.

The maintenance costs for consumers are also high, Gandhi said, warning that vehicles may suffer damage if fuel made with higher ethanol blends is used in car engines that do not have the technology.

He also challenged the lack of visible labelling at petrol pumps, claiming that the consumers were getting no information on the ethanol content of the fuel they bought.

Questions Modi Over Ethanol

Gandhi asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to tell what is the actual percentage of ethanol in petrol supplied all over the country. The party also demanded to know the action to be taken against companies violating the 20% limit.

"Modi ji, tell us - what’s being put in the country’s tank? How much ethanol is actually in the petrol? When will action be taken against companies mixing more than 20% ethanol? And the debate challenge still stands. We’ll add this issue too - who is actually benefiting from your policies?" he said.

Karnataka Seeks Action From Companies

This comes in the middle of a standoff between the Karnataka government and oil marketing companies over the amount of ethanol present in petrol that is sold at the fuel stations of the state.

Earlier, Karnataka Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Minister Rizwan Arshad had stated that several of the samples collected contained ethanol beyond the 20 per cent permissible limit according to tests carried out by the NABL-accredited, ISO-certified Shriram Research Institute in Bengaluru.

The state government added that the samples were sent to the in-house laboratories of IOCL and BPCL earlier but reports were not shared that the ethanol content was present, seeking independent examination of the samples.

Questions Over Ethanol Policy

The dispute has raised fresh concerns about the quality of ethanol blended petrol and whether it is safe to use on Indian roads.

E20 petrol refers to petrol with ethanol content of up to 20 per cent. The Centre has been encouraging ethanol blending, as a means to cut reliance on imported crude oil and benefit domestic ethanol producers.

The Karnataka government has requested action against companies that are illegally supplying petrol over the limit and has also demanded more transparency in the ethanol volume indicated at fuel stations.