Colas: And all live happily ever after

Union Health Minister Sushma Swaraj, too, played safe. She said that tests of 12 samples in two Govt-accredited labs in Mysore and Kolkata had revealed that ‘‘in some cases they (pesticides) are well below the European Union standards and in some, a few times higher than the EU limit.’’ And added: ‘‘However, according to the standards prescribed under the Prevention of Food Adulteration rules, all these are well within the safety limits as per existing standards of packaged drinking water.’’

In the same breath, she said that the government was considering introducing EU norms for water content in soft drinks.

Coca-Cola and PepsiCo celebrated the announcement with a joint press conference. ‘‘We have the utmost praise and respect for the ministry’s leadership on this issue and have full faith in the Indian authorities to develop science-based standards,’’ Coca-Cola India President Sanjiv Gupta said in a statement jointly issued with Pepsi.

CSE dubbed the government statement as ‘‘very unfortunate’’ but said it was vindicated by the government’s probe which too detected pesticides in seven of the 12 bottles.

Earlier, several agitated members interrupted Minister Swaraj while she read out the statement. As they fired a volley of questions, the Speaker said that the rules did not allow them to ask questions. However, Swaraj said: ‘‘I am prepared to answer anybody’s questions. Please allow every member to speak.’’

Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav, who spoke first, said: ‘‘Let the JPC sit. It is not a question of a party. You are doing good job, but it is a question of the health of people.’’ His party colleague Raj Babbar echoed the same demand.

Swaraj responded by saying: ‘‘I don’t have to shield anyone. Let there be a JPC or whatever you want.’’

Satyavrat Chaturvedi of the Congress said: ‘‘I have a straight question to ask.’’ As the House suddenly became quiet to hear his question, Chaturvedi asked: ‘‘How much contribution (chanda) has been taken before this report? Please tell this also.’’ This sparked off an uproar with BJP members Madan Lal Khurana, Vijay Kumar Malhotra and Anita Arya speaking together.

The Speaker told them to sit down by pointing out: ‘‘The minister is capable of replying to him.’’ Swaraj responded: ‘‘If you want JPC, form it now. You give the names. Let there be only opposition names. Let there be no government representative. Let Raghuvansh Prasad Singh (RJD) head it.’’ Turning to Chaturvedi, she asked him to name the person who had taken the money. She said, ‘‘I thought Bhai Satyavratji is a responsible member.’’

Swaraj maintained that the CFTRI was not under the Health Ministry. ‘‘Don’t undermine institutions for political gains,” she said.

Meanwhile, experts say tests need to be much more rigorous. To get an accurate picture, the size of the sample has to be in proportion to the plants and the number of bottles being made by the plants.

‘‘In such a small sample, there are chances that errors could slip in,’’ said Alexander Von Hildebrand, regional advisor to the WHO on Promotion of Chemical Safety.

‘‘In such an emotional issue, an independent international body needs to be entrusted with the task,’’ he said. He also said that it was difficult to say that the 1.2 to 5 times higher was safe or not. ‘‘Depends on what quantity it is being consumed and who is consuming it — a pregnant woman and children could get affected differently.