PM directs Bhopal GoM to report all aspects of Bhopal tragedy

NEW DELHI: Congress, which is anxious to cut its political losses from the Bhopal issue, on Monday asked the Centre to take steps for deflecting adverse spotlight on it and the then government led by Rajiv Gandhi. Consequently, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh directed the group of ministers (GoM), headed by home minister P Chidambaram, to report to the Cabinet within 10 days on all aspects relating to the tragedy.

A release from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said the GoM will meet soon to take stock of the recent judgement and to assess the options and remedies available to the government.

The PMO had not set a time-frame for the completion of the GoM’s work and this had led to a feeling that the panel would take its own time for completing its task. With the Opposition coming down heavily on Congress and the proliferation of pro-Arjun Singh and anti-Arjun Singh voices in the party denting its credentials, the Congress leadership decided to seek fast-tracking of the “redressal” exercise.

A section of the party is also unhappy with the government leadership for its failure to cogently articulate a response to the Bhopal verdict. While the law minister put the entire blame on the judiciary, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) made things difficult by its admission that the prosecution was not handled properly.

The statements of Digvijay Singh and Satyavrat Chaturvedi ensured that Congress remained the target of the Opposition’s attack. The prime minister has so far not commented on the “shameful” Bhopal verdict.

On Sunday, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee had intervened to limit the damage with a new spin — that “deteriorating law and order situation in Bhopal” prompted the then state government to release Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson. But this is unlikely to wash as governments normally don’t take recourse to such excuses when confronted with huge man-made tragedies.

Congress and the government, meanwhile, continue to be under pressure to explain the circumstances that led to Anderson’s release and the indulgence shown to him in Delhi.

Arun Nehru, a former minister and a key strategist of the Rajiv Gandhi government, has said Anderson visited the then President and home minister after his arrival from Bhopal.

“After being released, he came in a state aircraft to Delhi. He saw the home minister (P V Narasimha Rao) and he saw the President (Giani Zail Singh) — this is an event which took place and it is much better to clarify. The only one who can clarify is the government,” Mr Nehru told a TV channel.

Mr Tarlochan Singh, who was personal secretary to Giani Zail Singh, said the President might have met Anderson, who was by then charged with culpable homicide amounting to murder.

“If any foreigner wants to meet the President, it’s done through a government department. One needs the recommendation of a central government department to facilitate such a meeting. Secondly, for any such meeting, the department officials accompany the foreigner. And an interpreter is also present,” he said.