Govt did not do justice with Bhopal gas victims: Opposition

The opposition today charged the government with failing to do justice with the victims of Bhopal gas tragedy.

"Justice and accountability have been the real casualty," Ravi Shankar Prasad (BJP) said initiating a discussion on the issue.

He said 26 years have passed and 20,000 people died in the incident and asked the government to disclose what was the exact number of deaths in its record.

Prasad said that Union Carbide had sought permission to run the plant in 1970 and it was given the nod when emergency was imposed in the country on October 31, 1975.

Referring to the negligence, he said there was prior warning of gas leak as a person had died but no action was taken by the then government.

Terming the exit of the then CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson as a "shameful incident", Prasad said he was arrested and then escorted by the DM and the SP.

"He was allowed to go to Delhi in a state plane and from there to the United States," Prasad said.

He said, "we want to know who allowed Anderson to escape. Why action is not taken against anyone with a white skin be it Anderson or Quattrocchi?"

The BJP leader termed the Supreme Court judgment of 1996 as "deeply regrettable" which diluted the charges against Anderson and said, "the Supreme Court treated it as a simple truck accident even as 20 thousand people had died."

He also criticised the then chief justice of India AS Ahmadi for becoming chairman of a hospital in Bhopal (run by the Union Carbide).

Prasad criticised the CBI for the "casual way" it treated the case and for not making attempts for the extradition of Anderson.

"Is your government going to make a sincere effort to extradite Anderson?" he asked home minister P Chidambaram, who was present in the House.

Ashwani Kumar (Cong) said the Supreme Court was not infallible and therefore the present government has filed a curative petition in the court.

On the extradition of Anderson, he said the Union Carbide chief conveyed a desire to come to India in solidarity with the victims and one cannot draw inference and make innuendos so many years after the incident.

"He (Anderson) was not a fugitive from law. He was not named in the FIR as only officials of the Union Carbide were named. He obtained bail and left the country...," Kumar added.

The Congress member said the number of proven death as a direct consequence was 5,295 people and more than five lakh people were affected.

He said total compensation was Rs 3500 crore and a separate curative petition could be filed to increase the amount.

Defending the then Congress ruled governments at the Centre and the state, Kumar said the issue is now being dealt with new knowledge and facts and what the central and the state governments did at that time was valid and correct in law.

Naresh Chandra Agrawal (BSP) wanted to know the exact number of people killed and those affected in the tragedy.

Citing the recent example of the oil leak in the US where the British Petroleum had to pay heavy damages, he said the life of human beings in India did not command much value.

Brinda Karat (CPI-M) said that nobody has gone to jail even after the conviction of a few people by the court and demanded steps to bring back Anderson.

Shivanand Tiwari (JD-U) said the chief of the company responsible for the tragedy must be punished.

Defending the government, T Siva (DMK) said steps have been taken to compensate the victims.

Veerpal Singh Yadav (SP) asked the government to prepare a list of physically challenged children born after the tragedy and sought compensation for them.

RC Singh (CPI) said since it was a man-made tragedy, culprits should be brought to book.

Ram Vilas Paswan (LJP) stressed that the Dow Chemicals should take the complete responsibility to remove the hazardous waste. The effluent should not be dumped in any part of India, he added.

"Dow Chemicals should not be allowed to invest or do business in India till the matter is resolved," he said.

Vikram Verma (BJP) said Anderson should be tried in India.