New Delhi: The Bhopal disaster verdict has sparked off reactions of shock and anger across the political spectrum.
"It is a matter of deep anguish for me personally. It has taken so long, and the verdict is clearly very unsatisfactory from every point of view and has caused understandable furore, particularly among the people who have been affected by the tragedy," Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said. (
Read: Jairam 'anguished', says no more Bhopals)
"New facts have come to light. What is more important is that the victims of this tragedy get proper and adequate justice," BJP spokesperson Ravishankar Prasad said.
What happened in more than 25 years leading up to - what many have called a mockery of justice - is also a baffling story of how successive governments of both the BJP and the Congress failed the victims of the world's worst industrial disaster. (
Watch: Bhopal impact: Rethink on N-liability bill?)
If any of this newfound concern and anguish is genuine, can the government - more than 25 years later - give answers to what seems like its own complicity in the tragedy:
Why did Arjun Singh, the chief minister, defy all warnings and evidence that a disaster was imminent and assure the Assembly that he had personally inspected the Carbide plant and there was no problem, just months before the gas leak?
Why was Warren Anderson, the chief of Union Carbide, given the chief minister's own aircraft to leave India, just four days after the leak and with a charge of 304A against him when he was simply out on bail? On the same day he flew out of the country, never to be brought to trial.
Today, both the Congress and the BJP government claim that they tried to extradite Warren Anderson, but there is little evidence of that. More damning is the claim form a former CBI official who says the foreign office told him not to pursue the matter. (
Read: Case against Anderson not closed, says Moily)
"We received a written communication from the External Affairs Ministry that we should not pursue the extradition matter of Warren Anderson," former CBI Official B R Lall said.
Also, why did the government accept the Supreme Court settlement with Union Carbide for just 470 million dollars - money not enough to compensate even a fraction of its victims?
Why did the Digvijay Singh government allow Carbide to return the land with tonnes of toxic waste still on it, when the lease clearly said that the land had to be returned in its original condition?
With Carbide back in India as Dow Chemicals, the government seems keen to exonerate Dow from its liabilities in the Bhopal Gas Tragedy.
For one, the Congress spokesperson is the counsel for Dow. In fact, he excused himself from speaking on the last anniversary of the disaster.
But with 20,000 dead and lakhs continuing to suffer, those fighting for justice say the Congress and BJP leaders will have to come up with stronger answers if not action for this.
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