Amidst growing outrage over last week’s Bhopal gas tragedy verdict, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stepped in on Monday and directed the group of ministers (GoM) headed by Union home minister P. Chidambaram to report to the Union Cabinet within 10 days after assessing the “options and remedies available”.
Contrary to what has been reported so far — that the GoM under Mr Chidambaram was reconstituted following the trial court’s order in the gas leak case last week — the fresh GoM was set up on May 26 while the Bhopal court order came on June 7, and, therefore, its reconstitution had nothing to do with the Bhopal court’s verdict, said sources.
Moreover, for all the chest-beating now on the part of the BJP for the gas victims, it has now come to light that a BJP-led Madhya Pradesh government had rejected in 2008-09 a proposal to set up an empowered commission to look after the interests of those affected by the 1984 gas leak.