The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas on Saturday rejected allegations by the Karnataka Government that petrol sold at some retail outlets contained ethanol levels of 26-31 per cent, asserting that fuel supplied by public sector oil marketing companies (OMCs) across the country conforms to prescribed E20 standards.The ministry said nationwide testing of 893 samples had found ethanol content within the permitted range of 19-21 per cent, even as Congress leader Rahul Gandhi targeted the Centre over the issue, demanding transparency on the actual composition of petrol being sold.In a post in Hindi on X, Rahul said, “E20 turned into 420 – stealing petrol from the public’s cars!” The reference was to Section 420 of the erstwhile Indian Penal Code, which dealt with cheating.Karnataka minister takes dig at OMCs, promises detailed reply on Nov 9Karnataka Minister Rizwan Arshad on Saturday said he would respond in detail to public sector oil marketing companies’ rejection of the state government’s claim that petrol sold at some outlets in the state contained up to 31 per cent ethanol. “On Monday, I will share a detailed response with the entire nation,” he added.Rahul cited test results of petrol samples collected by the Karnataka Government from seven districts, claiming that 11 of the 14 samples tested contained more than 20 per cent ethanol. “31.2 per cent at IOCL, 30.5 per cent at HPCL; IOCL, HPCL, BPCL, Nayara, Shell – whether government-owned or private – all exceeded the limit,” he alleged.He further claimed that the companies’ own laboratories had not reported the ethanol content and questioned why fuel stations did not display labels disclosing the proportion of ethanol in petrol.The Congress leader alleged that excessive ethanol blending could affect vehicle performance, reduce mileage and increase maintenance costs. “Modi ji, tell us – what’s being put in the country’s tank? How much ethanol is actually in the petrol? When will action be taken against companies mixing more than 20 per cent ethanol?” he asked.He also reiterated his challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for an open debate, saying ethanol blending could be included in the discussion.Rejecting the allegations, the ministry said the three public sector OMCs — Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) — had clarified that the reported claims were not supported by testing conducted in accordance with prescribed statutory and technical procedures.The companies maintained that E20 petrol supplied across the country, including Karnataka, conforms to IS 17021, the Bureau of Indian Standards specification for ethanol-blended motor gasoline.They also questioned the sampling and testing methodology adopted during the Karnataka Government’s October 2026 exercise. Under the Motor Spirit and High Speed Diesel (Regulation of Supply, Distribution and Prevention of Malpractices) Order, 2005, read with the Marketing Discipline Guidelines, 2024, samples must be collected, retained and tested through a prescribed procedure. This includes drawing six one-litre samples from each outlet, with two each handed to the dealer, retained by the oil company or department and sent to a designated laboratory.The OMCs said the October exercise reportedly involved samples collected without their representatives, and that they had not received retention samples, complete outlet-wise details or laboratory reports despite seeking them. They also questioned the use of third-party laboratory certificates that, they said, lacked sufficient technical details for independent verification.Meanwhile, the Centre for High Technology, under the Petroleum Ministry, said 893 E20 samples collected from OMC depots and retail outlets across 27 states and Union Territories had been tested under its quality coordination exercise. The samples included 330 from IOCL, 280 from BPCL and 283 from HPCL. All were found to contain ethanol within the prescribed range of 19-21 per cent.