(From left) Tehseen Poonawalla; Shehzad Poonawalla
Tehseen Poonawalla’s campaign against E20 petrol and allegations of a sugar scam appear to have strained ties between the brothers, with Shehzad taking a swipe at him.
The fresh dispute started after Tehseen said that the “sugar scam” is affecting citizens as they have to pay more for sugar while ethanol in petrol is destroying vehicles.
“The Sugar Scam is the most bitter Scam in INDIA!” Tehseen wrote on X as he shared a video of himself serving sugarcane juice to Delhi Police personnel.
The post prompted his brother Shehzad, who recently quit the Bharatiya Janata Party, to take a jibe at him and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi as well.
“Dearest Tehseen, asking for a friend: Is your pal Rahul Gandhi a beneficiary of the ‘Beta Badhao’ yojana? Since you made this about Netas’ children…” wrote Shehzad on X on Saturday, August 22.
He questioned why Tehseen was being selective in his outrage. “What merit does Rahul Gandhi have? He is not fit to even be a booth-level leader. How is he JANNAYAK?” his post read.
Following his resignation, Shehzad had announced his move back to the private sector over financial and personal circumstances. He maintained that he would continue to “support the vision and work of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP.”
In August, he began the “Axe the Tax” campaign aimed at scrapping the income tax for salaried Indian citizens under his broader movement, “Khandan Karo”.
While the brothers continue to spar, sugar prices have indeed been under scrutiny across the country. Data from the Consumer Affairs Ministry show retail prices increasing from Rs 48.18 per kilogram on July 20 to Rs 58.20 per kg on August 21.
The Centre has responded by taking measures to prevent hoarding ahead of the festive season and allowing sugar imports, a first in almost a decade.
On Friday, August 21, the government clarified that the rise in sugar prices cannot be attributed to the diversion of the pantry staple for ethanol production.
“The present increase in sugar prices is due to a combination of factors, including lower-than-expected domestic production, increased demand ahead of the festive season, weather-related damage to the sugarcane crop, tightening global sugar supplies, and speculation and hoarding by some sections of the industry,” the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution said in a statement.
This post was last modified on August 23, 2026 5:05 pm