Giving a clean chit to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, former Union minister Arun Nehru, who was part of Mr Gandhi’s Cabinet, on Sunday said Arjun Singh as Madhya Pradesh chief minister had taken the decision to release then Union Carbide CEO Warren Anderson after the Bhopal tragedy and that the Centre had no role in the episode.
“It is obvious that chief minister Arjun Singh took the decision (to release Anderson) and informed the Centre. This I am saying on the basis of the press conference, which the CM had addressed on December 7, 1984. He was the person in-charge and he took the decision,” Mr Nehru said.
Claiming that the only authentic version of the episode could be got from the press interviews of Arjun Singh in 1984, Mr Nehru said, “To attribute any motive to Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi is wrong as the decision was taken by the CM.” He also said that a fresh controversy has “unnecessary” been created, as facts were “known” and the then CM had spoken on the issue in 1984.
Mr Nehru was a general secretary of the Congress in 1984 and was campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections when the Bhopal gas tragedy took place. He fell out with Mr Gandhi later.
Claiming that Arjun Singh had taken the decision keeping in view the circumstances that existed then, he said, “Trying to judge events in 2010 by the ground realities existing in 1984 can never be right. He took the decision based on the ground situation then and that decision was being questioned now after 25 years,” he lamented.
On the issue whether the matter cropped up in any meeting of the Union Cabinet then, Mr Nehru said it was election time and there was no time for Cabinet meetings as the leaders were busy electioneering.