Anderson extradition possible if India overcomes shyness

Even as the thinking in Delhi is that it is next to impossible to secure the extradition of former Union Carbide CEO Warren Anderson, some Americans feel this can be done owing to the growing economic clout of India.

“There is a great deal at stake. India is not the country it was in 1984 when the Bhopal disaster struck. Developed economies sunk during the 2008 financial crisis but India kept its head above water. US companies want to be in India. India can use leverage to go after Anderson,” said an executive in a US firm looking to do nuclear business in India.

On Wednesday, powerful Democratic Congressman Frank Pallone Jr broke rank with the Obama administration by blasting the Bhopal gas tragedy verdict as “outrageous” and calling for the extradition of Anderson, 90, to India to stand trial.   

This is just the outer shell of a solid sphere of India supporters and lobbyists in Washington.

New Jersey’s Pallone and Florida Republican Bill McCollum founded the jumbo-sized Caucus on India and Indian Americans in 1993, which played a major role in selling the India-US civil nuclear energy deal on Capitol Hill. In June, 2004, the US rejected India’s Anderson extradition request saying it did not “meet requirements of certain provisions” of the bilateral extradition treaty. But can New Delhi now employ the strategy of leveraging the pro-India lobby in Washington? After all, US industry, Indian-

American lobby groups and pro-India lawmakers in Congress did manage to sell the nuclear deal.

Pallone also said it is unacceptable to allow an American company the opportunity to exploit international borders and legal jurisdictions. He said Anderson should not be allowed to evade criminal liability for Union Carbide’s abuses committed overseas.

“A sentence of merely two years for those responsible for the world’s worst chemical disaster is outrageous. The punishment doesn’t come close to fitting the crime,” said Pallone.

“All those responsible for this disaster, including Warren Anderson, should stand trial in India and receive punishment that reflects the devastation and pain they have caused for thousands of people. Anderson absolutely deserves to be extradited from the US and punished for the full extent of his crimes,” he said, sending a cue to Delhi that it has champions in the US.

Consider India’s leverage. Costing $2.5 billion per 1,000 megawatts, the 30 new reactors India will commission could mean big contracts for US companies like GE Energy, Thorium Power and Westinghouse Electric. India also wants US technology to use thorium, a silvery metal considered an alternative nuclear fuel to costly uranium. In short, India holds high stakes in its engagement with the US.