New Delhi: Congress leader Pawan Khera on Thursday launched a sharp attack on Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, alleging that India’s ethanol blending policy has turned into a “family windfall,” benefiting Gadkari’s sons’ companies. Khera claimed that while ordinary citizens face rising fuel costs, Cian Agro Industries, owned by Gadkari’s son Nikhil, saw revenues surge from Rs 18 crore in June 2024 to Rs 523 crore by June 2025, with its stock price rising over 2,100 percent in eight months. Gadkari’s other son, Sarang, serves as director of Manas Agro Industries, also involved in ethanol production.

Khera argued that the ethanol programme has failed to deliver promised fuel price relief. Gadkari had assured diesel at Rs 50 per litre and alternatives at Rs 55, yet petrol prices have climbed from Rs 71.41 in 2014 to nearly Rs 95 in 2025. He further cited technical reports suggesting that E20 fuel reduces engine life by 25 percent, increases maintenance costs, and results in greater mileage loss than official estimates.

The Congress leader also criticized the sourcing of grains for ethanol production. He said ethanol plants are buying cheaper grains from government stock, such as rice from the Food Corporation of India at Rs 22.50 per kg, while the economic cost is Rs 39.75 per kg, negatively affecting farmers’ income and national food reserves. Khera alleged a conflict of interest as ethanol production heavily relies on sugarcane despite promises of using waste and wood, and accused Gadkari and RSS associates of favoring sugar mills in Maharashtra to push the policy.

Khera posed five questions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, including whether the Lokpal will investigate Gadkari and his family and who is “pocketing the profits” from the ethanol drive. He also accused the government of failing to ensure that benefits of ethanol blending reach the common man.