Nowhere to hide

The Bhopal disaster and its long aftermath has been a miasma of misinformation and rumour. Once again,the fate of Warren Anderson has become the focal point for all redress. As the Congress finds itself slammed from all sides for allowing,even facilitating Andersons getaway,its reflexes have been deeply problematic. Digvijay Singh leapt in first,claiming that US pressure had played a part in the release. Meanwhile,as some then in the CBI pointed at former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi,the party has been focused on limiting liability by blaming the then chief minister of Madhya Pradesh,Arjun Singh. Now,Pranab Mukherjee bolsters that case against the state government,but defends the action saying that the law and order situation was bad and peoples frenzy was at a high,and adds that the government would push every possibility of getting Anderson extradited. Worse,the law minister flings blame at the judiciary for having sold the Bhopal victims down the river.

Torn between the needs for compensation and retribution,Bhopals biggest betrayals have been political. It was a case study in technical and social unpreparedness. After the event,law and public policy frameworks had to be fashioned on the fly,to deal with the gas disaster. Indias tort system and compensatory principles,class action rules,etc,have evolved after the encounter with American law that Bhopal triggered. Today,as India confronts its imperfect settlement and its compromises,it deserves an open and honest accounting of what transpired.

Reducing the matter to a mechanical chant for Andersons punishment,and scoring political points off it,only hurts the cause. After all,did Indian courts then have personal jurisdiction over the American defendants? That is,if India managed to convict Anderson,could penalties have been imposed? The Congress should have the courage to confront these questions,even as it confronts the mistakes of its own government then obstructing legal effort with their inept documentation,failing to ensure immediate medical examinations and squandering relief money. Shifting political objectives have hindered the pursuit of a consistent relief and reconstruction programme for Bhopal. Now,as the nine-member group of ministers mulls options and remedies,the least we expect is a sober assessment,untainted by considerations of political profit and loss.