New Delhi, August 13: Much before the first bottle could be popped open, Cadbury Schweppes has got a bad hangover. The multinational's Canada Dry campaign, which was to be uncorked after Lata Mangeshkar sings "Sareh Jahan Se Achcha" in the Central Hall of Parliament at 12.15 am on August 15, has kicked up a huge controversy with Rajya Sabha members crying foul.

For the company, the `Gift Freedom' idea was a sure-fire winner. But the elders are not amused. Quite a few of them have threatened to stall the special midnight session if the melody queen pops open the "champagne of soft drinks" in Parliament.

Company sources however are unfazed. "The entire campaign has been misunderstood. There were no plans of asking Lata to open the bottle in Central Hall," they said.

Cadbury had worked out ambitious plans for D-day. As soon as the clock strikes midnight on August 14, the company offered only a "privileged few" to share the emotion.

A total of 50,000 of "Freedom Salvo" bottles will be taken out of their golden foil cover by those who are willing to shell out Rs 75 per bottle carrying Lata's signature.

Proceeds from the sale will go partially to Child Relief and You (CRY). And for this, Cadbury has tied up with Cause Celebre, the social marketing agency.

But Rajya Sabha members are seeing red. Cutting across party lines, members pulled up the government on Wednesday for converting a solemn occasion into "an advertisement gimmick for a multinational" and said this "amounted to disrespect to all those people who laid down their lives for swadeshi".

Raising the matter during zero hour, Margaret Alva (Congress) sought to know whether government permission was sought for this and if so who gave the permission.

"When our freedom fighters sacrifice their lives for the swadeshi movement, how can a soft drink multinational use the Central Hall to advertise," she asked.

Biplab Dasgupta (CPI-M) demanded that this part of the programme be scrapped while Sikander Bakht (BJP) said members would stall proceedings in the midnight session if the programme went as per schedule and demanded an immediate response from the government.

At this point, information and broadcasting minister S Jaipal Reddy assured members that he would take up the issue and said "none of this will happen in the House."

It now transpires that former power minister and senior Congress (I) member NKP Salve contacted the melody queen's office which promptly denied any plan on her part to uncork the prized soft drink bottle.

Salve, according to the Rajya Sabha secretariat, shared this information with his MP colleagues later which had the desired result.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.