India, Aug. 8 -- Road transport minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday said there was no merit in the argument that mixing 20 ethanol in petrol (called E20) reduces mileage of vehicles. "This is not even a discussion. I don't know if I should say this, politically - it appears the petroleum lobby is manipulating it," he said in reply to a question about social media chatter on effects of E20 petrol.

"You show me one vehicle anywhere in the world which had problems because of E20 petrol!" he said, during an interview at a summit by Business Today.

This comes in the same week when the petroleum ministry also said the no major engine damage or performance loss is detected due to the fuel.

It acknowledged, however, that mileage might dip by up t...