Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday accused the Centre of “coercing” automobile manufacturers into silence over the impact of E20 (petrol blended with 20% ethanol) on vehicles manufactured before 2023.

Addressing a press conference on the issue, he claimed that officials from nine automobile firms had, in discussions with him, acknowledged that E20 could damage nearly 30 crore older vehicles and reduce fuel efficiency. AAP has organised a national town hall on the issue on August 1.

“The Modi government has resorted to outright gundagardi (hooliganism) to force E20 petrol on the public. A few days ago, I wrote to 29 companies that manufacture petrol-powered two- and four-wheelers. In my letter, I asked them to clearly state whether E20 petrol can be used in vehicles manufactured before 2023,” the AAP chief said, adding that none of the companies responded in writing. However, he had detailed phone conversations with officials from nine of those.

“The technical and engineering reality is that if E20 is used in vehicles manufactured before 2023, it will damage the vehicle, its engine and the fuel train system, and fuel efficiency will also decline,” he said.