Hubballi, Nov 9 (IANS) Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi on Monday hit back at the Karnataka government over allegations that petrol sold in the state contained 26 to 39 per cent ethanol, claiming that such a quantity of ethanol was not even produced in India.
Addressing reporters in Hubballi, Joshi accused the Congress of spreading false propaganda over ethanol blending and said the party was making irresponsible statements without basic knowledge of the issue.
“The Congress leaders have claimed that petrol contains 39 per cent ethanol. However, there is not even enough ethanol production in the country to support such a claim,” he said, adding that the state government was deliberately making baseless allegations that petrol contained between 26 and 31 per cent ethanol.
Joshi alleged that the Congress government was attempting to undermine the Centre’s ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initiative and its efforts to promote ethanol production in the interests of farmers.
Taking a dig at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Joshi said that Gandhi may have referred to the Karnataka Congress government as “420”, alleging that the state government had failed on several issues, including the alleged sting operation conspiracy, price rise, EVMs and the SIR controversy.
Joshi maintained that oil marketing companies would incur losses if they used excessive quantities of ethanol, as ethanol was more expensive than petrol. He said petrol was priced at Rs 53, while ethanol cost Rs 56.70.
“Despite ethanol being costlier, the Centre has encouraged ethanol production and blending in petrol to achieve self-reliance in the energy sector and protect the interests of farmers,” he said.
The Union Minister alleged that the Karnataka government had collected 63 fuel samples but released the results of only 14 samples. Reports from six laboratories were made public, he said, adding that 11 samples reportedly showed ethanol content ranging from 21 to 39 per cent.
“Such claims are being made by people who do not have even basic knowledge of the matter. There is simply not enough ethanol produced in the country for such levels of blending,” Joshi charged.
He said that 896 fuel samples, including 56 from Karnataka, had been tested across the country and reports had been submitted.
Questioning the manner in which the Karnataka government conducted the tests, Joshi alleged that the samples were not tested through a legally valid procedure and that the report had not been officially published.
He said representatives of petroleum companies and the Central government were not invited during the testing process. Under the law, he added, the petrol bunk owner and the concerned officials should be present during the collection and testing of samples.
Joshi further questioned the credentials of the Shriram Research Institute, which the state government had said conducted the tests. He alleged that the institution was not included in the list of eligible laboratories for petrol sample testing under Schedule 3.
He said around 1.66 crore farmers had received payments related to ethanol production and claimed that ethanol blending in petrol had resulted in savings of Rs 1.94 lakh crore.
“Rahul Gandhi and the Karnataka Congress government, which are opposing ethanol production and blending, should answer whether they are against farmers,” Joshi said.
He alleged that the Congress, driven by an anti-farmer mindset, was opposing ethanol despite it being more expensive than petrol.
Accusing the state government of acting deliberately, Joshi also said that while the base price of petrol was Rs 53, the Karnataka government was imposing nearly Rs 30 in taxes on petrol and diesel.
“If ethanol costs more than petrol, why would oil companies add it in higher quantities and incur losses?” Joshi asked, adding that the Congress had failed in its earlier agitations over the SIR and other issues and had now taken up ethanol as a new issue.
Taking to social media X, Joshi further said, “Karnataka Minister Rizwan Arshad’s press conference today on ethanol blending is a classic case of choosing sensationalism over responsible governance.
Instead of creating alarm through unverified claims of 26–31 per cent ethanol in petrol, the Minister should have first examined the official test results. All 893 samples tested across 27 States and UTs complied with the prescribed 19–21 per cent range. More importantly, all 56 samples tested in Karnataka by the OMCs were compliant, recording 19–20 per cent, with an average of 19.30 per cent.
–IANS
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