Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal was stopped by the Delhi Police while marching to PM Narendra Modi’s residence with 100 people affected by E20 petrol and more than 233,000 public petitions demanding the policy’s withdrawal. After being prevented from meeting the Prime Minister, Arvind Kejriwal sat-in on the road with the petitions, insisting that they be accepted. The Delhi Police informed him that the Prime Minister would not meet the delegation before taking custody of all the petitions and ending the demonstration.
The AAP Chief called out the Modi government for imposing E20-Blended Petrol under pressure from US President Trump and urged the Prime Minister to stand up to Trump instead of displaying strength against the public. He emphasised that if E20 is not withdrawn, the country will be compelled to launch another major movement. Senior AAP leaders including Punjab Prabhari Manish Sisodia, Uttar Pradesh Prabhari Sanjay Singh and other party leaders were also present.
Following the demonstration, AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal took to ‘X’ and posted, “Today, we tried to meet PM Modi with more than 233,000 petitions from the public opposing E20, but PM Modi’s police stopped us. We have sent all the petitions to PM Modi.”
He asked, “PM Modi, what is the point of showing your strength against us? Show the same courage in front of Trump and stop imposing E20 on the country. Otherwise, the nation will once again be compelled to launch a major movement.”
Addressing a press conference, AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal stated, “We had gone today to submit 233,238 petitions to the Prime Minister. A month ago, we had sought time to discuss the forceful imposition of the E20-Blended Petrol issue with him, but we received no response. Today, when we went to hand over the petitions, we were informed that he would not meet us. This reflects the dictatorial attitude. Just as he displayed dictatorship throughout the entire NEET examination leaks episode, he is showing the same approach on the E20 issue by remaining adamant.”
Questioning the Centre’s stand on E20, Arvind Kejriwal asserted, “The BJP-led Central Government itself admitted in Parliament that fuel efficiency does decrease. It also admitted that engine components are affected, specifically the rubber components. So if engine parts are getting damaged and mileage is also reducing, then why is this being imposed forcibly? It appears that the only reason is US President Trump’s pressure on PM Modi. Trump is putting so much pressure on him that PM Modi does not have the courage to say no. He is forcing India to buy ethanol from the United States and sell it here. That is why this entire E20 policy has come about.”