New Delhi, 06 August (H.S.): Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday criticised the central government over the issue of ethanol blending in petrol (E20), saying that the government itself has acknowledged that no decision has been taken yet to increase ethanol blending beyond E20.

Kejriwal alleged that the government was currently waiting for the situation to settle before moving ahead with any further increase in ethanol blending.

Reacting to a post by BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya on social media platform X, Kejriwal said the government's statement that no decision has been taken at present indicates that such a move could be considered in the future. He added that he was relieved that the government had acknowledged that no immediate decision had been made.

Kejriwal alleged that just as E20 petrol was introduced without sufficient scientific studies and wider consultation, the government could potentially implement E50 ethanol blending in the future. He accused the government of not giving adequate importance to scientific research, engineering assessments, and expert opinions while attempting to suppress voices of disagreement.

Questioning the Centre, Kejriwal asked why scientific studies and testing reports conducted before the implementation of E20 were not being made public. He demanded that the government release all research papers and test reports to ensure transparency and allow citizens to understand the complete facts regarding ethanol blending.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar