Former Madhya Pradesh CM breaks his silence on Bhopal Gas Tragedy, gives Rajiv Gandhi a clean chit
Former Madhya Pradesh CM breaks his silence on Bhopal Gas Tragedy, gives Rajiv Gandhi a clean chit
It's funny how whenever some unhappy episode in the Congress party's extensive past is brought to the fore, the name of former Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao starts doing the rounds. 
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On Wednesday, veteran Congress leader Arjun Singh once again blamed Rao for the controversy surrounding the Bhopal Gas Tragedy and the 'escape' of Union Carbide Chief Warren Anderson.
Apart from giving himself and then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi the clean chit, Singh said nothing that's not already in the public domain. The former Madhya Pradesh CM was allowed to deliver his speech while he was seated, given his ill health, an exceptional event in the history of the Rajya Sabha.
Arun Jaitely, leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, while commenting on Arjun's statement, said: "His (Arjun) statement is concealing more.
Arjun Singh put the blame of Warren Anderson's getaway squarely on the then Union Home Ministry, headed by Narasimha Rao.
"The Chief Secretary informed me that there had been persistent calls for granting bail to Anderson from Home Ministry officials in Delhi," Singh said.
Interestingly, Singh did not share a good rapport with Narasimha Rao when he was HRD Minister in Rao's cabinet.
Singh absolved then Prime Minister late Rajiv Gandhi of any role in Anderson leaving the country. "Rajivji never uttered a single word ... either in support of Anderson or trying to mitigate his problems," he said in the Rajya Sabha. He also claimed that he had ordered the arrest of Anderson and had informed Rajiv Gandhi, who was in Harsud town in Madhya Pradesh, immediately after the arrest of Anderson on December 6, 1984. But strangely, Singh claimed, Rajiv Gandhi did not utter au00a0 word after receiving the news.
Another question which he failed to clarify was who ordered Anderson to be transported to Delhi from Bhopal in a state government helicopter. The chopper in which Anderson was flown was being used by Singh himself. How could a chopper which is used by the Chief Minister be flown out without his permission or knowledge?u00a0
Singh also failed to explain how Anderson flew out of the country from Delhi. He did not say anything about the role of then External Affairs Ministry and its officials in the matter.
"He has conveniently shifted the decision to release Anderson to then Chief Secretary who is no more and some unknown Home Ministry officials... Dead men tell no tale," Arun Jaitley said.
Congress on the other hand said that BJP's bogey on Bhopal had got deflated. "BJP is in the habit of raising ghosts and then slaying them and feeling ecstatic about it.....It's because BJP's bogey has been deflated, demolished and buried that they are trying to clutch on to mythical straws," party spokesperson Manish Tewari said.
POLITICS OVER TRAGEDY
The Centre on Wednesday said that charges against former Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson were not watered down and even praised the CBI for standing its ground to seek his extradition on serious charges despite the then Attorney General opining to the contrary. "The CBI you ridicule has stood by its ground and asked to seek Anderson's extradition under grave charges of 304 whereas the case was registered under 304A," Home Minister P Chidambaram said while replying to a discussion on the issue in the Lok Sabha.
The Left parties including CPI-M and CPI staged a walkout after Chidambaram said that he would comment on the statement of former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh after going through it.
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