The fight is to avoid another Bhopal, says Prakash Karat

July 03, 2010 12:42 am | Updated November 09, 2016 06:55 pm IST - Bhopal:

“The fight for justice for the people of Bhopal is not just for compensation, but to ensure that Bhopal [gas tragedy] is not repeated,” said CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat.

He was here to participate in a talk “Hum Sab Bhopal” held in the Gandhi Bhavan complex on Friday. The Marxist leader emphasised the need to ensure that another American corporation did not risk the lives of the citizens of this country for the sake of profit.

“The governments of our country have not been able to either secure the extradition of [the former Union Carbide chief] Warren Anderson or ensure fair compensation to the victims of the tragedy. It is only the grit and determination of the people of Bhopal that has kept the struggle for justice alive,” said Mr. Karat.

He visited the Union Carbide factory and participated in a human chain at the site. Survivors' organisations, however, expressed their displeasure at their not being made a party to the discussions at the Gandhi Bhavan.

The Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh, the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha, the Bhopal Group for Information and Action and Children Against Dow Carbide wrote a letter to Mr. Karat in this regard.

“We welcome your initiative in supporting the 26-year-old struggle of the survivors of Bhopal …. we regret that except what has appeared in the media none of us has any information on your visit. We hear that there will be a public meeting, but have no information on where it will be and at what time … three of our organisations were not even informed, let alone consulted,” read the letter.

“We are thankful for the support we have received over the years from members of Parliament belonging to your party. At the same time, we wish to convey our dismay that the West Bengal government eagerly sought investment by The Dow Chemical Company, current owner of the Union Carbide, to set up a chemical complex near Haldia.”

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.