The BJP on Thursday described the Congress’ response to the disclosures in the aftermath of the Bhopal gas tragedy verdict as “conspicuous silence” and obliquely alleged that former Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson’s release shortly after his arrest and his leaving India were masterminded by senior Congress leaders of the time.
“Rajiv Gandhi was the Prime Minister and Arjun Singh was the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh. The Congress must answer whose phone came from Delhi and who passed orders to the Bhopal police to release Anderson just hours after his arrest and then to take him to Delhi in a government plane,” said BJP chief spokesperson Ravishankar Prasad at a news conference in Patna.
Accusing the Congress of frequently becoming weak-kneed in dealing with “crimes committed on Indians by foreigners,” Mr Prasad said, “We are not politicising the Anderson issue, but we demand justice for the 15,000 Indians who were butchered by the Union Carbide’s poisonous gas. We already have the example of Ottavio Quattrocchi.”
“Anderson’s release from police custody on December 7, 1984, was a gross interference with the judicial process. He was booked under Section 304 of the IPC,” said Mr Prasad.