India, Sept. 11 -- Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, on Wednesday accused the petroleum sector of lobbying against the government's push for ethanol-blended fuel, saying vested interests were trying to stall the transition.

"Everywhere there are lobbies, there are interests. petrol lobby is very rich," Gadkari said, reacting to growing social media concerns over E20 - petrol blended with 20 per cent ethanol. His remarks came at the 65th annual convention of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) in New Delhi.

"The social media campaign was a paid campaign against me. The Supreme Court has also dismissed the petition. There was no fact," he added.

The rollout of E20, which began at select fuel...