Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday ruled out any meeting with officials of Dow Chemicals, the new owners of Union Carbide Corp, during his visit to the US next week. “If I go there at all, I would be addressing the (US-India) CEOs meeting and also have some bilateral meetings with Treasury officials. I do not know of any other meeting. I do not know from where these things come,” he told reporters here when asked about reports about his plans to meet with Dow Chemicals CEO Andrew Liveris in US.
The finance minister is scheduled to leave for the United States by week end and is slated to attend the US-India CEO Forum meeting on June 22. In 2001, Dow Chemicals took over Union Carbide Corporation, whose Indian arm was behind one of the world’s worst industrial disasters that claimed over 15,000 lives in Bhopal in 1984.
A local court on June 7 convicted seven people, including Union Carbide India’s chairman Keshub Mahindra, to two years’ imprisonment holding them responsible for the gas leak. Union Carbide’s then CEO Warren Anderson was not tried, while another accused passed away during trial.
Reports suggested that Mr Mukherjee would meet Mr Liveris and raise the gas leak matter with him.
Earlier in the day in New Delhi, Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, replying to questions about any meeting with Dow officials, said: “No, absolutely not. I mean let’s be clear about it. We are the government delegation led by the finance minister (and) will have a meeting with the US government people on a wide range of issues.”
The minister refused to answer other questions on Bhopal gas tragedy here, saying that a group of ministers is looking into it.
“I am not going to respond to any of these questions (related to Bhopal gas tragedy). There is an appropriate GoM on this issues and they are looking into all aspects,” Mr Mukherjee said when asked about safe passage given to the then Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson. Mr Mukherjee is a member of GoM appointed by the Centre to look into all aspects of Bhopal gas tragedy. The GoM, which is headed by home minister P. Chidambaram, was appointed by the Centre after a public outrage over a Bhopal court verdict giving two years’ imprisonment to the persons responsible for the tragedy and the then government providing safe passage to Anderson.