Why is Nitin Gadkari acting like India’s unofficial Petroleum Minister?
He is the Road Transport Minister. His job is roads, highways, flyovers, expressways, road safety, toll accountability and contractor quality.
But every few days, he is selling ethanol dreams: E20, E85, E100, sugarcane, maize, flex-fuel.
Where is the Petroleum Minister then?
And more importantly, are Indian vehicle owners test samples?
Old bikes and cars are already facing mileage drop, rubber damage, fuel pipe issues, rusting, starting trouble and repair bills because of ethanol blending concerns. Who will pay for this?
The minister? Oil companies? Car companies?
No. The same middle-class public that already pays tax, GST, toll, FASTag, insurance, registration and inflated fuel prices.
This is not science. This is forced experimentation.
Science means transparent testing, public data, consumer choice, warranty protection and accountability.
If E85 and E100 are so great, sell them only for vehicles designed for them. Do not push every citizen into a fuel experiment.
And while all this fuel lecture is going on, look at the roads.
Flyovers are patched. Expressways are uneven. Toll roads shake the car like a tractor track.
First fix the road under the tyre.
Then lecture us about the fuel inside the tank.