Bhopal gas tragedy: PM asks group of ministers to meet immediately

With questions being raised over handling of the Bhopal gas tragedy, prime minister Manmohan Singh today directed the Group of Ministers headed by home minister P Chidambaram to meet "immediately" and report to the Cabinet within ten days.

The GoM has been asked to assess the options and remedies available to the government in the light of the Bhopal court's verdict in the gas tragedy case.

"The prime minister has directed that the GoM headed by home minister and constituted to look into all issues relating to Bhopal gas disaster, may meet immediately to take stock of the situation arising out of the recent court judgement to assess the options and remedies available to the government on the various issues involved and to report to the Cabinet within ten days," a PMO spokesman said.

The GoM was reconstituted last week to go into a range of issues including the relief and rehabilitation of victims and their families.

Nearly 26 years after the disaster left over 15,000 dead, former Union Carbide India chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were sentenced to two years imprisonment.

After Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson was allowed to leave the country, the Opposition slammed the then Congress governments both at the Centre and the state on the issue.

Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh, who was Madhya Pradesh chief minister in 1984, faced flak from both within Congress as also other parties on the exit of Anderson.

Giving a new spin on why Anderson was allowed to leave the country, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee yesterday said Singh had taken the decision keeping in view the prevailing law and order situation.
    
Though Mukherjee, like many Congress leaders, squarely put the onus of the decision on Singh, the then Madhya Pradesh chief minister, he said this was "thought necessary" as tempers were running high after the incident.