GoM to probe 'whats and hows' of leak

Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, a member of the Group of Ministers (GoM) on the Bhopal tragedy, today said the panel would probe under what circumstances the 1984 industrial disaster took place and how the punishment for the culprits was reduced.

“It can be probed under which circumstances it happened and under what circumstances he (Warren Anderson, former chairman of the Union Carbide) had to leave...what were the causes and how the punishment was reduced,” Azad told reporters on the sidelines of a function in the national capital.

“The GoM meeting has not been held so far. I cannot discuss anything,” he said.

The GoM on the gas leak, headed by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram, includes Law Minister M Veerappa Moily, Chemicals and Fertilisers 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.

Azad said whenever a meeting of the GoM will be held, “we will be briefed by some competent authority that has been associated with this right through. Then, we will come to some conclusions and definitely brief you”.

Asked whether the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Arjun Singh, should come out with his version on the issue, Azad said: “You can’t force anybody to speak the truth”.

The group was reconstituted last week to go into a range of issues including the relief and rehabilitation of victims and their families.

Nearly 26 years after the disaster, which left over 15,000 dead, former Union Carbide India Chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were sentenced to two years imprisonment.