Washington:
The Group of Ministers on Bhopal have said that they do consider Dow Chemicals, the owner of Union Carbide, liable for the Bhopal clean up and now, Dow chief Andrew Liveris is skipping the India-US CEO forum that begins today in Washington.
Dow spokesperson told agencies that Liveris was not attending the meeting because of his prior engagement. The spokesperson further claimed that Liveris' absence has got nothing to do with the Bhopal gas tragedy controversy.
Dow washed its hands of any liability for the Bhopal gas tragedy after it bought the company from Union Carbide.
And someone who was seen as batting for Dow Chemicals when he was the Commerce Minister in UPA's earlier tenure -- Kamal Nath has now spoken out for the first time on this issue and denies having supported Dow.
He said he never recommended that Dow should be absolved of its liability and instead insists Dow should be held liable for the Bhopal gas tragedy. (
No question of supporting Dow: Kamal Nath)
"India-US forum is a formal forum between government of India and the government of US. Dow will have to respond to all issues at the forum. If I was supporting them, there would not have been any need for the committee to be set up. It's a fact that Dow is not owner of UCCC they inherited it," Kamal Nath said.
India Inc is showcasing itself in Washington at the India-US CEO Forum, where top Indian and US policymakers and corporate leaders will be discussing trade, investment, and an easier visa regime. The forum has recently been in the news for being used as a lobbying platform for Dow Chemicals that has been denying its Bhopal liability.
The forum which begins today will be attended by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who is leading a high-powered team of policymakers, including Commerce Minister Anand Sharma and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia. Also present will be Ratan Tata, who is co-chairing the meeting.
Mukherjee will also have bilateral meeting with his US counterpart Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.
The forum with 12 CEOs from each side is co-chaired by Tata group chairman Ratan Tata from the Indian side and Honeywell chief executive David M Cote from the US side.
The Indian business team includes Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, Infosys Technologies CEO S Gopalakrishnan, Bharti group chairman Sunil Bharati Mittal, ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar and HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh.
Others on the US side include Pepsico's Indra Nooyi, Citigroup's Vikram Pandit, United Technologies Corporation's Louis Chenevert, JP Morgan Chase's Jamie Dimon and McGraw Hill Companies chairman, Terry McGraw.