Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 10 : Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Friday alleged that leaders within the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were attempting to damage Union Minister Nitin Gadkari's image, claiming that he was being targeted because he was a strong contender for the post of Prime Minister.
"Gadkari Saheb should give a presentation on this entire matter. The confusion that has been created in people's minds is because of people from his own party," the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader said.
"Those trying to defame Nitin Gadkari are none other than people from the Bharatiya Janata Party itself. They want to trap him in one way or another," he added.
The UBT Sena leader further said, "Like before 2014, when discussions were going on about his second term as party president, attempts were made to trap him even then."
"He is a strong contender for the post of Prime Minister. Therefore, defame him, defame him so much that people's perception of him gets damaged. All this is being done by people from his own party, and he also knows this," Raut alleged.
Meanwhile, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday demanded a reduction in petrol and diesel prices, stating that "pure petrol" should be made available at Rs 82 per litre and E20 fuel at around Rs 70 per litre.
Addressing the media in New Delhi, Kejriwal said, "Pure petrol should be available in our country at Rs 82 per litre; and if we switch to E20 fuel, I believe the price should drop even further, to around Rs 70 per litre, compared to the Rs 102 currently charged for E20 petrol."
He said diesel prices could also be reduced similarly and claimed that lower fuel prices would help provide relief from inflation.
"We can calculate diesel prices in the same way; diesel prices could also be reduced. If petrol and diesel prices come down, I believe it would deal a significant blow to inflation and provide people with much-needed relief," Kejriwal said.
"On behalf of the people of this country, I demand that the government immediately start supplying pure petrol at Rs 82 per litre, and if E20 is to be supplied, the price should be even lower," he added.
The remarks came days after Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri said that a reduction in retail petrol and diesel prices would become a "legitimate question" if global crude oil prices remained at current levels for the next few weeks, while cautioning that it was premature to speculate on an immediate price cut.
Puri had also defended the government's ethanol blending programme and dismissed concerns over E20 fuel. He said the transition to higher ethanol blends was being carried out after consultations with industry bodies, including the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) and the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI).
"The automobile manufacturers, as well as the people who service these vehicles, all say there is no difficulty. Why this sudden interest?" Puri said, calling the concerns around E20 fuel a "misrepresentation".
The Union Minister said India had been gradually increasing ethanol blending and that vehicles compatible with E20 fuel were already in use.
"We have been using E15 for the last three and a half years. We have been on E20 since April of last year. From April 2025 to April 2026, it has already been one year, and we are now another five months beyond that," Puri said.
Earlier, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting had also clarified that E20 fuel was introduced after laboratory, vehicle and field testing by leading technical institutions. It said the use of approved E20 fuel does not automatically void a manufacturer's warranty and that ethanol blending follows established fuel quality standards under India's Ethanol Blended Petrol Programme.
The Ministry said extensive testing by institutions including ARAI, Indian Oil R&D and IIP found no significant engine durability or performance issues with E20 in older vehicles, adding that millions of vehicles were already operating on the fuel.
On his remarks regarding Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, Raut said that he was not angry with Pawar and described him as the "supreme leader" of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).
"We were not angry yesterday and we are not angry today either. Pawar Saheb is our supreme leader, he is the leader of the Maha Vikas Aghadi. Yesterday, we only spoke about our feelings," Raut said.
Targeting Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Raut said, "Eknath Shinde is the biggest traitor, we believe this."
He added that when Ajit Pawar broke away from Sharad Pawar's party, it had caused similar pain.
"When Ajit Pawar broke away from Pawar Saheb's party, we felt the same amount of pain. People who commit betrayal should not be given any respect under any circumstances by political leaders like us," Raut said.
Raut further said that giving importance to leaders who split parties could send a wrong message among workers.
"If this happens, tomorrow anyone will betray and then leaders like us will go to their homes and have tea with them. What will workers think then? I think about the feelings of workers. They do not like all this," he said.