Pressure on Arjun to clear air on Anderson
PTI
NEW DELHI, JUNE 11
Pressure mounted on Arjun Singh today to break his silence on allowing Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson to flee the country as senior Congress leaders dismissed any role of Rajiv Gandhi in it but one of his top aides said he may have been consulted.
On his part, Singh, who was Madhya Pradesh chief minister in 1984 when the Bhopal Gas tragedy shook the State, maintained a stoic silence, refusing to speak to the media.
Seeking to distance Rajiv Gandhi from the whole controversy, Congress leaders Digvijay Singh and R K Dhawan said the Centre had nothing to do with the Anderson issue and it was for Arjun Singh to respond.
A day after kicking up a controversy by reportedly alleging that US pressure could have led to Anderson leaving the country in December 1984, Digvijay Singh said he was unaware of the developments at that time as he had resigned as Minister in the Madhya Pradesh Government and was campaigning for Lok Sabha polls.
In an email response to PTI from the US where he is currently on a tour, he said the “people who can answer this are “Arjun Singhji, the then CM” as also Brahm Swaroop, the then Chief Secretary of Madhya Pradesh, Moti Singh, the then Collector of Bhopal, and Swaraj Puri, the then SP of Bhopal.
He said Rajiv Gandhi had left his campaign and visited Bhopal immediately, visiting the affected areas and meeting the families of affected persons.
“The Government of India extended all possible help immediately to the State Government,” Digvijay Singh said.
