New Delhi: "Why is Arjun Singh silent?" asked the BJP on Thursday as it slammed the Congress over Warren Anderson's exit from India after the Bhopal gas tragedy in 1984.
Anderson was the CEO of Union Carbide Corporation when a gas leak at its Bhopal plant poisoned the city on the night of December 3 that year.
(In Pics: Who is Warren Anderson)The BJP's Ravi Shankar Prasad made twin points in the party's attack: it is publicly documented that the Indian government had guaranteed Anderson that no action would be taken against him when he arrived in India to assess the damage; and that Rajiv Gandhi, who was the Prime Minister, cannot be excused from the decisions and acts that saw Anderson leaving India, never to return.
Anderson arrived in Bhopal on December 7. Along with other executives of Carbide, he was charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder. He was arrested, then granted bail, and flown out of Bhopal on the chief minister's official plane.
Singh has not commented on these remarks. The Congress has adamantly held that the exit route provided to Anderson was decided and orchestrated by Singh's government and not the Centre.
However, in an interview to NDTV, Gordon Streeb, who was at the time a senior US diplomat in Delhi, claims that Anderson had been promised safe passage by India's Foreign Secretary, and that when Anderson was placed under house arrest, the Ministry of External Affairs intervened to have him released, and to fly him back to Delhi.
At the BJP's press briefing on Thursday, Prasad said that even as Anderson arrived in India, US papers carried a statement by Union Carbide in which the company spoke of the Indian government's assurances to Anderson. Prasad said this proved "a conspiracy" by the Congress to help Anderson.
Earlier this week, the Congress refuted charges that it had offered any guarantees to Anderson.
Prasad also referred to statements made on camera by Anderson and Arjun Singh in 1984, which were aired by NDTV on Wednesday. Anderson tells a reporter, "House arrest, no arrest...bail no bail...I am free to go home. There is a law of the United States. India...bye bye. Thank you. Take care." The BJP slammed Anderson for his "arrogance" and blamed Singh for his "submissive" comment - standing outside the Carbide plant, days after the disaster, Singh says, about Anderson's visit, ""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."
(Exclusive: What Anderson said after visiting Bhopal) |
(Read & Watch: No intention to prosecute anyone, said Arjun Singh in '84)Anderson has not been tried in India since the 1984 tragedy. He has ignored a series of court summons. America has also rejected extradition requests for him.
Last week, a Bhopal court sentenced seven Indian executives to two years in prison for the tragedy. They have been granted bail.
The verdict - and Anderson's exclusion from any legal process in 25 years- has led to public outrage.