Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar is likely to head the 15-member Joint Parliamentary Committee set up to probe the reported high percentage of pesticide residues in Coca-Cola, Pepsi and ten other soft drink brands.

Among those who were sounded to head the committee included leader of opposition Sonia Gandhi, deputy leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha, Shivraj Patil, and Bharatiya Janata Party leaders Vijay Kumar Malhotra and former minister Shanta Kumar, Parliament sources said.

The committee was set up on Friday following the demand by the opposition in the wake of the government giving a clean chit on Thursday to 12 soft drink brands saying their samples tested were 'well within the safety limits' prescribed for packaged drinking water at present.

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