Automobile firms ‘forced’ to mislead people on E20 fuel: Kejriwal
Aam Aadmi Party national convener (AAP) Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday alleged that the Narendra Modi government “forced” three major automobile manufacturers to mislead the public by saying that using E20 fuel in E10 vehicles will cause no damage.
Addressing a press conference, Mr. Kejriwal said “the government got Maruti Suzuki, Toyota Kirloskar, and Hero MotoCorp to falsely assure consumers that using E20 in E10 vehicles will cause no damage despite their owner manuals warning against using fuel with more than 10% ethanol”.
The AAP chief said he would write to all automobile companies seeking a written assurance that they will compensate vehicle owners if the use of E20 fuel reduces mileage or damages the engine and other parts.
He said he would also write to the Prime Minister next week asking whether the Centre or the companies would bear the cost of compensation if vehicles are damaged because of E20 forcefully being imposed on all fuel stations in the country and, subsequently, all petrol vehicles.
The former Delhi CM said the Centre remains adamant on its policy despite widespread public opposition. “The reason behind this stubbornness is not known, but the Central government refuses to budge. Every day, one lie after another is being told. One Minister lies one day, another the next. People are being fed bundles of lies. The government is adopting new tactics every day to convince people to start adopting E20 blend petrol,” he said.
Mr. Kejriwal alleged that the Centre had summoned six automobile manufacturing companies on July 3 and asked them to hold press conferences to tell the public that E20 fuel is perfectly fine. “Out of the six, three companies refused to comply, saying they could not tell such a big lie. However, Maruti Suzuki, Toyota Kirloskar, and Hero MotoCorp lied to the public during their press conferences. They claimed that mileage would fall only by 5% to 7% but there would be no damage to the fuel tank, fuel system, or engine,” he said.
