Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Monday said the Group of Ministers (GoM) on the Bhopal gas disaster could probe the circumstances under which the leakage occurred and how the punishment for the culprits was reduced.
Responding to queries after inaugurating an upgraded Indian Red Cross Model Blood Bank here to mark the World Blood Donors Day, Mr. Azad — who is also a member of the GoM — said it could also be probed under what circumstances the former Union Carbide chairman, Warren Anderson, had to leave the country.
“Till now the GoM meeting has not been held. So I cannot discuss anything,” he said.
The GoM headed by Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram has Law Minister M. Veerappa Moily, Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister M.K. Alagiri, Urban Development Minister S. Jaipal Reddy, Science and Technology Minister Prithviraj Chauhan, and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister Kumari Selja as its members.
Mr. Azad said: “We will be briefed by some competent authority which has been associated with this right through. Then we will come to some conclusions and definitely we will brief you.”
Asked whether the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh should come out with his version on the issue, Mr. Azad said: “You can't force anybody to speak the truth.”
