Gaadi March suspended after Delhi Police deny permission

On 31 July 2026, citizen group Team Bharat had planned a “Gaadi March, Gandhi March” — a vehicle procession from India Gate past the offices and residences of Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari and Hardeep Singh Puri, ending near Parliament Street — to press for consumer fuel choice under India’s E20 ethanol-blending policy.

A day earlier, media reported that organiser Tehseen Poonawalla was picked up / restricted by Delhi Police near the central Delhi protest zone, and that his Instagram account was suspended. He alleged attempts to curb the campaign while talks with the Centre were ongoing.

Poonawalla later said a senior police officer informed him that permission for the Gaadi March had been denied and that proceeding would invite action. Citing the need to protect participants and their vehicles, he publicly suspended the march.

The episode sits alongside an earlier, longer meeting between Team Bharat representatives and Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri (29 July), in which the government reportedly sought time and asked organisers to reconsider street action. Separate August events — an AAP town hall and a transporters’ Parliament march — remain on the public calendar.