Gadkari dismisses criticism of India’s 20% ethanol petrol rollout as ‘paid campaign’

New Delhi: Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday dismissed criticism of India’s rollout of 20% ethanol-blended petrol (E20), calling it a campaign driven by “vested interests” and “paid” efforts, while strongly defending the government’s ethanol programme.

Addressing the 65th annual convention of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) in New Delhi, Gadkari said, “The campaigns on social media against ethanol were to target me politically.”