Afternoon sun in Delhi can be unsparing, even in October. After an action-packed morning of marching, jumping over barricades and jostling with the police, Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra found some respite under an imposing banyan tree.
Protests need energy. And after munching on a roll from Delhi's iconic Khan Chacha, Rahul Gandhi took a big gulp from a plastic bottle filled with bright pink liquid.
The internet was quick to identify it as Sting, a beverage sold by PepsiCo and marketed as an “energy drink”. While Rahul appeared to relish the sugar rush, Priyanka was considerably more circumspect.
Rahul was seen handing the bottle to Priyanka. She looked at it suspiciously, sniffed it reluctantly and appeared to ask a supporter curiously what it was. She eventually also took a sip.
Priyanka, it appeared, tried to dodge Rahul's “Sting Operation”, but could not.
The unexpected prop at the Leader of the Opposition's protest was, at the same time, at the centre of a court battle taking place a few kilometres away.
Just as the Gandhis were getting their dose of “Sting” at the protest, PepsiCo was getting its own dose of courtroom drama over the phrase “energy drink”.
Sometimes, politics writes the punchline itself.
In Delhi's latest political theatre, Rahul and Priyanka brought the Sting. The court brought the interim relief. And PepsiCo brought the legal sting.
As NDTV reported, the Delhi High Court on Tuesday granted PepsiCo interim relief in its legal battle against restrictions imposed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on the use of the “energy drink” label.
Existing stocks carrying the label can continue to be sold, while new products cannot be manufactured with the disputed descriptor as the case continues.
PepsiCo had approached the High Court challenging directions issued by the FSSAI, which had asked the company to remove the term “energy drink” from its product labels. The food regulator had also instructed food safety officials across the country to seize products carrying the disputed label.
However, top government sources told NDTV that there were several reasons why the FSSAI was compelled to take the step, while reiterating that the matter would now be decided by the court.
One source said caffeinated beverages are increasingly marketed using the descriptor “energy drink”, a term that could create a perception of nutritional energy, enhanced vitality or improved physical performance.
Caffeine, however, primarily acts as a stimulant, temporarily increasing alertness and reducing the perception of fatigue. It does not itself provide nutritional energy or calories.
The use of the descriptor, the source said, therefore raises consumer-protection and public-health concerns, particularly when high levels of caffeine and added sugar are combined with marketing aimed at young consumers, sportspersons and health-conscious buyers.
Talking of health conscious, Rahul Gandhi is certainly one. May be he will read the label closely the next time.
On a day full of drama on streets and in court, Rahul Gandhi got his Sting, Priyanka couldn't dodge it, and PepsiCo took its own Sting to court.
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