Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee joined senior Congress leaders in putting the onus of Union Carbide Corporation chairman Warren Anderson’s easy exit from India in the wake of the Bhopal gas disaster on the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh.
Breaking his silence on the issue, Mukherjee on Sunday gave a new twist to the Congress tale, seeking to justify Arjun Singh’s action in letting Anderson off the hook.
“There was people’s frenzy all around Bhopal. People’s tempers were running high. The law and order situation was getting out of control. So, it was felt necessary to send him (Anderson) out of Bhopal,” Mukherjee said, recalling Singh’s statement on December 8, 1984.
Mukherjee, who was not a member of Rajiv Gandhi’s cabinet in 1984, said the United Progressive Alliance government would seek to get Anderson to India to stand trial for the world’s worst industrial disaster.
“The issue of extradition has come up. Naturally, we will explore the possibility of extradition,” the Finance Minister said. Mukherjee’s comments came after several Congress leaders dismissed suggestions that Arjun Singh had acted at then PM Rajiv Gandhi’s behest and mounted pressure on the senior Congress leader to break his silence on the issue.
