The 'E20 Janta Party' appears to have modeled itself after the Cockroach Janta Party, a satirical political movement that emerged from a remark by the Chief Justice of India and went on to champion the NEET paper leak issue as a nationwide movement.
At the time of filing this story, the E20 Party had 218,000 followers on Instagram, with its follower count continuing to rise by the second.
The self-described 'party' says it is demanding the freedom to choose 100% original fuel at a discounted price and has also called for the resignation of Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, who has been facing digital backlash over E20 fuel.
The government, however, has asserted that there is no proposal to return to what it described as 'lower standard' unblended fuel.
Petrol currently available in India is referred to as E20 because it contains a blend of 20% ethanol, which the government has described as a technologically advanced fuel.
Critics, however, claim that E20 fuel reduces vehicle mileage and damages engines. The government has maintained that E20 is safe and clean, stating that neither laboratory tests nor real-world usage have established that the fuel causes any damage or wear and tear to engines.
At the same time, the government has acknowledged that vehicles compliant with E10 standards may experience a marginal drop in mileage when using E20 fuel.
The emergence of the E20 Party has drawn attention following the success of the CJP. The CJP ended its month-long protest last week after Dharmendra Pradhan resigned as education minister, marking what the report described as a rare successful debut for a surprise outfit.
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