Rahul Gandhi demands clarity on ethanol blending in petrol from PM Modi amid Karnataka findings

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to clarify how much ethanol is being blended into petrol and when action would be taken against companies "mixing more than 20%".

Gandhi opened this front a day after a minister in the Congress government of Karnataka claimed "independent" sample studies done in the state found ethanol blends exceeding the prescribed 20% limit, a charge subsequently denied by oil marketing companies such as HPCL, IOC and BPCL.

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"E20 turned into 420--stealing petrol from the public's cars! The Modi government says--petrol contains 20% ethanol. The Karnataka government collected petrol samples from 7 districts and had them tested at an accredited lab. Look at the results--11 out of 14 samples contained more than 20% ethanol; whether government-owned or private, all exceeded the limit", Gandhi alleged in a social media post.

This, he said, meant people are paying for expensive petrol, but ethanol is being pumped into their tanks despite cars not being designed to handle that much ethanol.

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