Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday led a protest march towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official residence, demanding a rollback of the Centre’s E20 fuel policy. The demonstration was stopped midway after Delhi Police deployed heavy security and erected barricades near Firoz Shah Road.
Several senior AAP leaders, including Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh and Saurabh Bhardwaj, joined the march as party workers raised slogans against the ethanol blending programme and called for direct talks with the Prime Minister.
Addressing reporters during the protest, Kejriwal urged the Centre to reconsider its policy and claimed the government should not make decisions under external pressure.
“I want to say that PM Modi should not come under pressure from US President Trump. He should stop buying ethanol from the USA and stop imposing E20 on our country. I hope that the Prime Minister will call us. We have sent a message to the Prime Minister saying that we want to meet him. The struggle will continue,” Kejriwal said.
As the procession moved towards the high-security zone, Delhi Police prevented protesters from advancing, citing prohibitory restrictions around the Prime Minister’s residence.
Police officials said Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) is in force in the area and maintained that no permission had been granted for the demonstration. Authorities also stated that the AAP had neither sought nor obtained official approval to organise the march.
The protest triggered a sharp political response from the BJP, which dismissed the campaign as baseless and defended the government’s ethanol policy.
BJP MP Tarun Chugh criticised Kejriwal’s protest, saying, “It is an absurd, meaningless campaign of his; there is no logic, no information… Everything has been done in a scientific manner.”
He further backed the ethanol blending initiative, arguing that it directly benefits the agricultural sector. “His behavior is against India’s farmers. Ethanol means protection for farmers,” Chugh added.
The protest marks the latest confrontation between the AAP and the BJP-led Centre over the E20 fuel programme, with the opposition party demanding a review of the policy while the government continues to defend it as a measure aimed at reducing fuel imports and supporting the farming community.
