The Communist Party of India (CPI), a key member of West Bengal's ruling Left Front, on Friday demanded a ban on the products of soft drinks majors Coca Cola and Pepsi in the state.
"Our party is for a ban on Coca-Cola and Pepsi Cola in the state. If Kerala can ban it, why can't we?" senior CPI leader and Water Investigation Minister Nandagopal Bhattacharya told a press conference in Kolkata.
CPI's demand was voiced a day after Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said colas would not be banned in West Bengal till the government received a report on samples sent to the Centre for testing.
The CPI leader said the State Water Investigation department has tested some samples of colas in the state, but refused to divulge the findings. "I have sent the findings to the chief minister during the day."
On persistent queries, he replied, "Why should I send it to the chief minister if there was nothing in it?"
Earlier, Left Front Chairman Biman Bose had said primary reports of laboratory tests on the soft drinks had failed to identify any harmful ingredients in them.
Bhattacharya refused to admit that banning the products of the multinational giants would affect the flow of foreign investment to West Bengal.
A study by the NGO Centre of Science and Environment has claimed that the soft drinks contained pesticide residues above the prescribed norms.
