New Delhi:
Whether or not they haunt Warren Anderson, his words are now coming back to shake India out of a collective inertia. "House arrest, no arrest...bail no bail...I am free to go home...bye bye. Thank you. Take care." Anderson made this statement on camera hours after a whirlwind trip to Bhopal in 1984. (Read: Who is Warren Anderson)
It sounded like a parting shot. And Anderson has stood by it. For 25 years, the former Chief Executive Officer of Union Carbide has not returned to India, ignoring a series of court summons. Extradition requests for Anderson handled by the Indian government have been lethargic, and have been turned down by American courts.
Under microscopic public and political scrutiny, the Congress is working day and night to unhinge itself from the debacle of Anderson's exit. Senior party leaders have said that Anderson's safe passage out of Bhopal was decided by Arjun Singh, who was the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh. The central government, led by Rajiv Gandhi, the party has asserted repeatedly in the last few days, had no role to play in how Anderson was handled in the aftermath of the Bhopal gas tragedy. The party line has been clear - Arjun Singh must explain the Anderson fiasco. (Read: It was Arjun Singh's decision to send Anderson out of Bhopal,says Pranab)
"It was never any intention of the central government to allow any culprit to go scot-free...there is a GoM (Group of Ministers) constituted and it will look at this," said Congress spokesperson Manish Tiwary on Wednesday.
Anderson's getaway has headlined the controversy that has followed a court verdict in Bhopal last week that effectively punishes nobody for the world's worst industrial disaster. Seven executives of Carbide's Indian subsidiary were sentenced to two years in prison for criminal negligence; they have been granted bail. And the fact that Anderson has never faced trial has stung the collective conscience of a country that had largely left Bhopal to fend for itself. (Read: Two years in prison for eight convicted in Bhopal gas tragedy)
Anderson landed in Bhopal on December 7, and was arrested. He was released a few hours later, and then flown to Delhi where he met the President, Giani Zail Singh, before leaving India.
Since that court verdict, Arjun Singh has not commented on Anderson or on what sort of role the central government played as he allowed Anderson the use of his official plane to fly out of Bhopal. But in footage accessed by NDTV, Singh, four days after the tragedy, wearing a Carbide helmet, standing outside the Carbide plant, says, "There was no intention to prosecute anyone or harass anyone. Therefore, he was granted bail and he agreed to be present in court if charges are made." (Read: Bhopal gas tragedy: No intention to prosecute anyone, said Arjun Singh in '84)
That statement implicates Singh. But an Amercian who was a senior diplomat in Delhi in 1984 says that it was India's Foreign Affairs Ministry that had guaranteed Anderson that there would be no action taken against him during his visit to Bhopal.
Gordon Streeb was Deputy Chief of Mission of the US embassy in Delhi. Speaking to IANS, Streeb recounts that he contacted the Foreign Affairs Ministry after Anderson was arrested after he landed in Bhopal. Streeb says he was then assured that the government of India would honour its commitment to provide Anderson safe passage in and out of India. Based on the assurance, Anderson was brought to New Delhi and "departed on the next commercial flight back to the United States." (Read: India assured Anderson's safe passage, says ex-US diplomat)
The Congress has appointed a nine-member group of minister to examine the impact of the Bhopal tragedy and last week's verdict. Headed by Chidambaram, the group will meet on Friday to discuss "options and remedies." It has been asked to present a report to the Cabinet within ten days. (Read: GoM on Bhopal gas tragedy to meet on Friday)
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has, meanwhile, said he has no meeting listed with officials of Dow Chemicals - the company which bought Union Carbide some years after the Bhopal disaster - when he visits America next week. "I am going to US to attend a CEO conference and bilateral meeting with the US Treasury Secretary. There are no other meetings lined up. I don't know where these speculations are coming from."
Dow CEO Andrew Liveris is expected to be part of the Indo-US Chief Executive Officers' (CEO) Forum meeting to be held in Washington on June 22.
It was at the same forum in 2006 that Liveris first claimed that he had got an assurance from Indian government representatives that Dow Chemicals was not liable to pay for the cleanup of the Union carbide site which even today is full of toxic waste. (Read: Not meeting Dow officials in US, says Pranab Mukherjee)
It sounded like a parting shot. And Anderson has stood by it. For 25 years, the former Chief Executive Officer of Union Carbide has not returned to India, ignoring a series of court summons. Extradition requests for Anderson handled by the Indian government have been lethargic, and have been turned down by American courts.
Under microscopic public and political scrutiny, the Congress is working day and night to unhinge itself from the debacle of Anderson's exit. Senior party leaders have said that Anderson's safe passage out of Bhopal was decided by Arjun Singh, who was the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh. The central government, led by Rajiv Gandhi, the party has asserted repeatedly in the last few days, had no role to play in how Anderson was handled in the aftermath of the Bhopal gas tragedy. The party line has been clear - Arjun Singh must explain the Anderson fiasco. (Read: It was Arjun Singh's decision to send Anderson out of Bhopal,says Pranab)
"It was never any intention of the central government to allow any culprit to go scot-free...there is a GoM (Group of Ministers) constituted and it will look at this," said Congress spokesperson Manish Tiwary on Wednesday.
Anderson's getaway has headlined the controversy that has followed a court verdict in Bhopal last week that effectively punishes nobody for the world's worst industrial disaster. Seven executives of Carbide's Indian subsidiary were sentenced to two years in prison for criminal negligence; they have been granted bail. And the fact that Anderson has never faced trial has stung the collective conscience of a country that had largely left Bhopal to fend for itself. (Read: Two years in prison for eight convicted in Bhopal gas tragedy)
Anderson landed in Bhopal on December 7, and was arrested. He was released a few hours later, and then flown to Delhi where he met the President, Giani Zail Singh, before leaving India.
Since that court verdict, Arjun Singh has not commented on Anderson or on what sort of role the central government played as he allowed Anderson the use of his official plane to fly out of Bhopal. But in footage accessed by NDTV, Singh, four days after the tragedy, wearing a Carbide helmet, standing outside the Carbide plant, says, "There was no intention to prosecute anyone or harass anyone. Therefore, he was granted bail and he agreed to be present in court if charges are made." (Read: Bhopal gas tragedy: No intention to prosecute anyone, said Arjun Singh in '84)
That statement implicates Singh. But an Amercian who was a senior diplomat in Delhi in 1984 says that it was India's Foreign Affairs Ministry that had guaranteed Anderson that there would be no action taken against him during his visit to Bhopal.
Gordon Streeb was Deputy Chief of Mission of the US embassy in Delhi. Speaking to IANS, Streeb recounts that he contacted the Foreign Affairs Ministry after Anderson was arrested after he landed in Bhopal. Streeb says he was then assured that the government of India would honour its commitment to provide Anderson safe passage in and out of India. Based on the assurance, Anderson was brought to New Delhi and "departed on the next commercial flight back to the United States." (Read: India assured Anderson's safe passage, says ex-US diplomat)
The Congress has appointed a nine-member group of minister to examine the impact of the Bhopal tragedy and last week's verdict. Headed by Chidambaram, the group will meet on Friday to discuss "options and remedies." It has been asked to present a report to the Cabinet within ten days. (Read: GoM on Bhopal gas tragedy to meet on Friday)
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has, meanwhile, said he has no meeting listed with officials of Dow Chemicals - the company which bought Union Carbide some years after the Bhopal disaster - when he visits America next week. "I am going to US to attend a CEO conference and bilateral meeting with the US Treasury Secretary. There are no other meetings lined up. I don't know where these speculations are coming from."
Dow CEO Andrew Liveris is expected to be part of the Indo-US Chief Executive Officers' (CEO) Forum meeting to be held in Washington on June 22.
It was at the same forum in 2006 that Liveris first claimed that he had got an assurance from Indian government representatives that Dow Chemicals was not liable to pay for the cleanup of the Union carbide site which even today is full of toxic waste. (Read: Not meeting Dow officials in US, says Pranab Mukherjee)
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