Actor Naresh calls E20 petrol a ‘nightmare,’ says it cost his friend Rs 3.5 lakh

“This ethanol petrol is giving heart attacks from bike users to high-end car users,” Naresh wrote, adding, “What about bike users or anyone for that matter? Nightmares.”

I am not anti national but this ethanol Petrol is giving heart attacks from bike users to high-end car users . My friend( a sympathiser of BJP) who bought Toyota Camry recently had to change valves of the engine. Which cost him 3.5 lks . If the same happens to my new Porsche… pic.twitter.com/4ciFCJxRv4

— Naresh Vijaya Krishna (@ItsActorNaresh) July 19, 2026

While making it clear that he was “not anti-national,” Naresh said the government’s decision to roll out E20 petrol, which contains 20 percent ethanol, appeared rushed and poorly planned. “As a former leader of BJP, I understand the party has a strong think tank with plans A, B and C. But this decision to protect the environment at the cost of crores of people certainly looks very hasty and radical,” he wrote.

He pointed to Brazil as an example of a country that implemented ethanol blending successfully by doing it in phases over time, and questioned why India chose to push it through at the pace it did. “Small countries like Brazil have successfully implemented ethanol in a phase-wise manner and succeeded. Why the hurry?” he wrote.

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Naresh also tied the issue to the BJP’s electoral prospects, noting that the party was forced into a coalition government after the 2024 general elections and has approximately two years before the next one. “With about two years for the next elections and the last results which ended up in a coalition government as any indication, this is a red signal for the BJP,” he said.

Naresh, is a veteran of Telugu cinema with over five decades in the industry and approximately 200 films to his name. He began as a child artist at the age of nine in Pandanti Kapuram in 1972 and became a lead actor with the Jandhyala-directed hit Nalugu Stambhalata in 1982 when he was just 18. Through the 1980s and 90s, he was a familiar face in Telugu cinema with films like Jamba Lakidi Pamba, Sri Kanaka Mahalaxmi Recording Dance and Chitram Bhalare Vichitram, before transitioning into character roles in later years with notable appearances in Drushyam, Guntur Talkies and Chandamama Kathalu. The actor’s comments come amid a growing national debate over E20 fuel.