India, Sept. 11 -- Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday dismissed criticism of India's rollout of 20% ethanol-blended petrol (E20), calling it a campaign driven by "vested interests" and "paid" efforts, while strongly defending the government's ethanol programme.

Addressing the 65th annual convention of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) in New Delhi, Gadkari said, "The campaigns on social media against ethanol were to target me politically."

The minister's comments come against the backdrop of the Supreme Court dismissing a public interest litigation (PIL) on September 1 seeking mandatory availability of ethanol-free petrol (E0) at all fuel stations, after the centre strongly opposed t...