Bhopal verdict should be an eye-opener for govt: Left

In the wake of the court verdict on Bhopal gas tragedy, Left parties today said it should be an "eye-opener" for the government and maintained that pushing ahead with the Nuclear Liability Bill will amount to playing with the interests of the people of the country.

In a statement, CPI(M) polit bureau said the Bhopal disaster and the "utterly flawed" legal framework shows how the American suppliers and owners have escaped any criminal liability.

"The Nuclear Liability Bill which excludes foreign suppliers from any liability may help more Warren Andersons. The bill limits compensation to even less than the paltry Bhopal settlement. Pushing ahead with the bill means playing with the safety and interests of the Indian people," it said.

The CPI said the judgment should be an eye-opener to the
UPA government trying to push through the Nuclear Liability
Bill that it will "absolve the nuclear reactor suppliers of all responsibility in case of disaster in nuclear plants".

Terming the Bhopal verdict as a "travesty of justice" that shames India and insults the memory of the thousands killed, the CPI(M) said it was the culmination of a "deeply flawed" legal process.

"These institutions compromised with the interests of the country and the victims, diluting the charges, enabling the American CEO Warren Anderson to escape, and limiting liability to a paltry compensation of only 470 million dollars," it said.

The CPI said the whole nation was "shocked" with the judgment which gave two years of imprisonment and a "small amount of fine" to Indian officials of Union Carbide.