New Delhi

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday criticised the central government over ethanol production from sugarcane, alleging that it has led to a shortage of sugar. He said that it was a government "entirely run by illiterates".

In a post on X, Kejriwal said, "To save the foreign exchange spent on oil imports, they started making ethanol from sugarcane. As a result, there has been a shortage of sugar. Now, they will import sugar using that foreign exchange."

तेल आयात पर खर्च होने वाली विदेशी मुद्रा बचाने के लिए गन्ने से एथनॉल बनाना शुरू किया। नतीजन चीनी की कमी हो गई। अब उस विदेशी मुद्रा से चीनी आयात करेंगे।

पूरी की पूरी अनपढ़ों की सरकार है। किसी को कुछ नहीं पता कि क्या करने से क्या होगा। pic.twitter.com/mVs2G2vSZ4

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) August 20, 2026

Taking a swipe at the government, he added, "It's a government entirely run by illiterates. No one knows what will happen if they do something."

Kejriwal is spearheading the party's campaign against E20 fuel and has attacked the Narendra Modi-led government on the issue earlier as well. He said it is trying to prevent people from voicing their concerns.

In a video posted on X, Kejriwal accused the government of trying to remove social media content critical of its E20 policy.

Kejriwal, the former Delhi Chief Minister, said he wanted to talk about how the E20 fuel policy is being implemented in the country.

Reciting the joke in the video in his post, he said, "a competition was held between the police forces" of US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and PM Modi "to find a lion released in jungle".

He said while the "police of Trump brought the lion in 24 hours and that of Putin in an hour, the police force of Modiji took days and during the search it was found that they were holding onto a dog, beating it severely, and asking it to say, 'I am a lion". This is the situation of the country that Modi ji has done. 140 crore people are being battered and are being told to say that 'E20 is right," he said

"Anyone who raises a voice against E20...their page (is) taken down, their video deleted... FIR filed against them... How will you suppress 1.40 crore people?" he asked.

AAP has tried to corner the government over the concerns related to ethanol-blended fuel.

AAP has said that findings related to fuel quality and vehicle compatibility should be made public and people should have choice for fuel at petrol station including for getting conventional petrol.

On Saturday, the government said E20 petrol alone cannot be held responsible for changes in vehicle mileage, stressing that real-world fuel economy depends on several factors, including driving habits, traffic conditions, vehicle maintenance, tyre pressure and use of air conditioning.

In a post on X, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas said E20 has undergone extensive testing and validation, while highlighting multiple factors that determine the mileage delivered by a vehicle.

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"Mileage depends on more than fuel alone. Driving habits, traffic, vehicle maintenance, tyre pressure and AC usage all play a role," the ministry said.

"E20 has undergone extensive testing and validation, while real-world mileage depends on the overall driving and vehicle conditions," it added.