New Delhi ? The Indian government said on Wednesday it was investigating a report by an environmental group about pesticides in beverages sold by Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, as parliament stopped the sale of Coke and Pepsi drinks on its premises.

“It is a very serious matter. I have asked for a comprehensive report,” Health Minister Sushma Swaraj told members of the lower house of parliament.

The Indian units of Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo Inc. have rejected the report by the New Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment, which said soft drinks sold in India had high levels of pesticides.

Soft drinks in India had high pesticide residues because the soft drink and bottled water industry uses an enormous amount of ground water as basic raw material, it said.

The two soft drink giants said in a rare joint conference on Tuesday that their products sold in India conformed to world standards and they were prepared for tests by independent and certified labs.

“The report is baseless and should be disregarded. We conform to the best international norms. We’re open to our product being tested anywhere in the world by an independent and accredited laboratory,” Rajeev Bakshi, CEO of Pepsi India, said.

Some parliament deputies said the report had caused panic and demanded the government impose a nationwide ban on the sale of Coke and Pepsi soft drinks.

Activists of India's ruling Bharatiya Janta Party pour Pepsi and Coca Cola into a sewer during a protest in Bombay, India. Lawmakers on Wednesday called for a ban on the sale of Pepsi and Coke after an independent Indian research body claimed the soft drinks contained dangerous levels of pesticide residue. Both companies have denied the allegations.

“As chairman of the food committee of parliament, I announce the supply of Pepsi and Coca-Cola will be discontinued in parliament,” lawmaker E. Ahmed said.

A clerk in parliament’s government-run restaurant where deputies dine said he had received instructions not to sell Coke or Pepsi soft drinks.

The Centre for Science and Environment has campaigned aggressively in the past on green issues, including a successful campaign for use of nonpolluting compressed natural gas for public transport in the Indian capital.

The centre said tests conducted by its Pollution Monitoring Laboratory showed cold drink brands sold by the two firms in India contained four toxic pesticides and insecticides.

The environmental group said it had found no pesticides in tests of Coke and Pepsi sold in the United States.