Says decision on Anderson was ‘thought necessary’
KOLKATA/NEW DELHI, JUNE 13
Giving a new spin on why Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson was allowed to leave the country after the Bhopal gas tragedy, Pranab Mukherjee today said Arjun Singh had taken the decision keeping in view the prevailing law and order situation.
Though Mukherjee, like many Congress leaders, squarely put the onus of the decision on Singh, he said this was “thought necessary” as tempers were running high.
The BJP and the Left parties mounted pressure demanding action against those who allowed Anderson to flee.
In Kolkata, Mukherjee told reporters, “the statement made by Singh as Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister five days after the Bhopal disaster had been published in a newspaper.”
“It is very clear from the statement of Arjun Singh, which was published in the media on December 8, 1984, that the law and order situation in Bhopal would have deteriorated and people’s frenzy and temper were running high. Therefore, it was thought necessary to send him (Anderson) out of Bhopal,” he said.