Pralhad Joshi and Karnataka minister Rizwan Arshad clashed over the state's ethanol-blended petrol test findings. The dispute highlights demands for independent verification, transparency and consumer choice.Pralhad Joshi defends ethanol blending as beneficial for farmers and reducing oil imports. (File photo) Union Minister Pralhad Joshi has accused the Congress of raising concerns over higher ethanol blending in petrol merely to “appease” party leader Rahul Gandhi, news agency Press Trust of India reported.Joshi alleged that there were flaws in Karnataka's fuel-testing process and said the Congress government was making baseless claims despite clarifications from the Centre.

Karnataka minister Rizwan Arshad, however, said the state supported ethanol blending but wanted transparency and independent fuel testing.“If the Congress is raising this issue to appease Gandhi, it is engaging in a different kind of appeasement. On one hand, they practise appeasement politics towards minorities, particularly Muslims, and on the other, they appease Gandhi.

They come out in his support and say anything. The public understands this,” Joshi told reporters in Bengaluru on Tuesday, according to PTI.Joshi said ethanol blending was intended to benefit farmers and reduce India's dependence on imported crude oil. “Crude oil is very expensive today.

The base price of our petrol is Rs 53, while the cost of ethanol is between Rs 57 and Rs 71 if we use maize-based ethanol. There is no commercial logic in it either,” he said.

He added that the government had promoted ethanol blending to support farmers and make the country self-reliant.He also questioned the Congress over its protests against the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, Electronic Voting Machines and other issues. He alleged that the party had raised the ethanol issue after failing to receive public support on those matters.

Explaining the fuel-testing process, Joshi said petrol and diesel had to be examined using specialised equipment at designated laboratories. “If you want to check blood sugar levels, an ordinary laboratory is sufficient. But if you want to test cancer markers or determine cancer levels, you need sophisticated equipment.

Similarly, testing petrol and diesel requires specialised equipment,” he said.Joshi said the system of designated laboratories and specialised testing equipment was introduced in 2005, during the tenure of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government, under the Petroleum and Diesel Order. “According to one of its clauses, the testing has to be conducted in the designated laboratory,” he said, adding that the Congress should not shift the responsibility to him.He asked the Karnataka government to examine the test results already provided by the Centre and make the remaining details public.“We will send an officer if they want to debate. An officer from the OMC will come.

Let Rizwan Arshad sit with our officers and their officers as well. Let them sit together and let Rizwan Arshad be the judge,” Joshi said, referring to an oil marketing company official.Joshi said he did not want to respond further to the allegations as sufficient clarification had already been provided.

He is the Union Minister of Education, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, and New and Renewable Energy.Arshad responded by saying that Joshi was not in charge of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry but had spoken on behalf of Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri. Arshad, who holds the Food, Civil Supplies, Consumer Affairs and Legal Metrology portfolios in Karnataka, sarcastically suggested that Joshi could take over the petroleum portfolio after Puri's resignation.“Why is the Union Government attempting to turn a public interest issue into a farmer-versus-people debate?

Karnataka is not against ethanol blending. Karnataka is against people being cheated,” Arshad said.

He added that the state recognised the benefits of ethanol blending for sugar factories.Arshad claimed that petrol containing 26 to 31 per cent ethanol was being sold as E20 and said people deserved an explanation rather than political accusations. “You cite 893 compliant samples nationwide, including 56 in Karnataka. But these were tested and certified by the OMCs in their in-house laboratories.

When oil companies test their own products and certify their own compliance, where is the independent accountability? They are acting as both the accused and the judge,” he said in a statement posted on X.He said none of the reports issued after Karnataka initially submitted 63 samples to the oil marketing companies' in-house laboratories disclosed the actual ethanol percentage. “If the Union Government disputes these findings, the answer is to set up a transparent, independent verification framework, not simply dismissing the results as sensationalism,” he said.Arshad also sought an explanation for higher ethanol blending levels despite ethanol being more expensive than petrol.

He demanded independent fuel testing, disclosure of the actual ethanol content at petrol pumps and a choice for consumers between E10, E20 and pure petrol.“Joshi, calling us fools and resorting to personal attacks will not help dodge these questions. We are not fools, and neither are the people of India.

Personal attacks cannot substitute for scientific evidence or answers to the legitimate concerns of ordinary citizens,” Arshad said.- Ends