The noise of the success of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) movement against the NEET-UG paper leak had not yet subsided when a new slogan started echoing, ‘Dharmendra Pradhan gone, this time Gadkari is out!’ In fact, just two days after the conclusion of CJP, a new kind of movement has gained momentum, the center of which is E20 fuel. From streets to Parliament and from Instagram to Town Hall, this issue is spreading rapidly. Will the outrage against E20 become a big mass movement like CJP’s…

After all, why is the opposition to E20 fuel not ending?

E20 is a type of petrol that contains 20% ethanol (biofuel made from crops like sugarcane and corn) and 80% conventional petrol. To reduce oil imports, reduce pollution and increase the income of farmers, the Central Government has made it ‘standard fuel’ at every petrol pump in the country from April 2025. This is where the problem arises, because more than 75% of the vehicles in India are not technically designed for E20.

Owners of old vehicles complain that this fuel is reducing the mileage by 4 to 12% and is having a negative impact on the engine parts. Government figures also mention a 3-3.5% reduction in mileage.

The controversy deepened when on May 18, 2026, the court ruled in favor of the car owner in the case of engine damage due to E20. People are angry because they are not being given the option to choose between E20 and pure fuel. The pure petrol available is costlier by 40-50%.

Mobilization is happening simultaneously on three fronts

This dissatisfaction has now started taking an organized form. This battle is being fought on three different fronts and the strategies of all three are completely different from each other:

1. Arvind Kejriwal’s ‘National Town Hall’

Giving a political edge to this issue, former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal has announced to call ‘National Town Hall Against E20’ on August 1 at the Constitution Club of Delhi. Kejriwal, directly citing the CJP movement, has asked the Prime Minister to resolve this matter until it becomes as big as the CJP.

More than 2 lakh people have signed Kejriwal’s online petition. After the Town Hall, he is planning to go straight to the PM’s residence with it.

2. Parliament march of Delhi Transport Unions

Delhi Taxi and Tourist Transporters and Tour Operators Association has announced a Parliament march on 4th August. Sangh President Sanjay Samrat says that their aim is to wake up the MPs who are sleeping on this issue. It is very interesting that transport unions are deliberately courting Gen Z.

Samrat admitted that he and his companions are not experts in technology, hence they have given the responsibility of promotion on social media to their children. The union’s biggest demand is for an independent scientific review of the E20 policy and to provide an option at petrol pumps, not a complete ban on E20.

3. ‘E20 Janata Party’ storms social media

This is the third and perhaps the most unique front. Soon after the closure of CJP, a page named ‘E20 Janata Party’ went viral on Instagram and X, gaining more than 3.28 lakh followers in just a few days. This page does not call itself a political party, but calls itself a mass campaign against E20 fuel. Its demands are very clear:

• Freedom to choose between E20 and pure petrol
• Resignation of Union Minister Nitin Gadkari
• Independent investigation into impact on mileage.

On the lines of CJP, this campaign is also making full use of memes, short videos and satire. The speed with which it went viral has surprised everyone.

So will this become a big movement like CJP?

The answer to this question is not so simple:

• On one hand, the E20 issue is much broader than the NEET paper leak, as it affects everyone who drives a car. The rapidly growing support base on social media and transport unions ready to take to the streets indicate that the anger is deep.
• On the other hand, all three fronts are currently isolated from each other. Transport unions have clearly stated that they have no connection with E20 Janata Party or any political party. Apart from this, Nitin Gadkari himself has moved the Bombay High Court, distancing himself from this policy.

Gadkari has taken permission to file a defamation case against social media platforms. He says that the E20 policy does not come under his ministry, but under the Petroleum Ministry. This statement has definitely blurred the target of the agitators a bit.

At present, everyone’s eyes are fixed on the dates of 1st and 4th August. If these three currents come together and start flowing, then this movement can take a bigger form than CJP. If these remain separate, it will not be very difficult for the government to handle it.

What did the BJP government say on E20 fuel?

The central government has described E20 as advanced, safe and cleaner fuel. Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has said that both car manufacturers and consumers have agreed to this fuel. The government says that no lab tests or real-world usage has proven that E20 causes any damage or wear to the engine.

The government said in Parliament on 27 July 2026 that it has not assessed how many vehicles in the country are fully E20-compatible. This raises the question as to how it was made mandatory without assessment. Maruti Suzuki, on its part, has said that the company serviced more than 1.5 crore old vehicles which were not E20-compatible. But no fuel related fault was found in them and this survey was the company’s own.

Nitin Gadkari distanced himself from E20

The biggest revelation was that Nitin Gadkari has distanced himself from the E20 policy. He has filed a petition in the Bombay High Court saying that AI-generated deepfake videos and posts on social media are falsely linking him to the E20 program. Gadkari is facing allegations that he and his family benefited from this. Bombay High Court has given him permission to file a defamation case against Meta, X, Google and other social media platforms.

Gadkari claims that the E20 ethanol blending program does not come under his ministry (Road Transport) but under the Petroleum Ministry, so he is not responsible for it. Meanwhile, Congress MP Hibi Eden has presented an adjournment motion against the nationwide rollout of E20 in the Lok Sabha on 28 July 2026. It is clear from this that the opposition is also trying to raise this issue in Parliament.