Ratlam: BJP President Nitin Gadkari today
questioned the exit of then Union Carbide Corporation chairman
Warren Anderson from the country after Bhopal gas tragedy and
demanded his early extradition.
Gadkari said Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had
been quoted as saying that Anderson was allowed to leave
Bhopal because of the law and order situation in the city.
"One can understand the reasons behind allowing Anderson
to leave Bhopal but why was he allowed to flee from the
country," he told a press conference here.
Rajiv Gandhi was also the External Affairs Minister when
Anderson was allowed to leave the country, Gadkari said.
BJP also demanded early extradition of Anderson from USA
and increase in financial support to Madhya Pradesh government
for various things, including disposal of toxic waste
following the Bhopal gas disaster of December 1984.
The BJP chief also demanded that the nuclear liability
bill should be scrapped and added that a Joint Parliamentary
Committee (JPC) should be set up to look into the functioning
of CBI and other autonomous institutions.
Accusing Congress of using CBI for its political
purposes, Gadkari said that there were a number of questions
which the Congress would have to answer.
The BJP President said that from 2002 to this year, the
number of encounters taking place in Gujarat were much less
than those in other states. Despite this the CBI was
"hounding" officials in Gujarat and not doing anything else in
other states, he claimed.
Gadkari said that the CBI has been working "so blatantly
for the Congress" that its name should now be changed to
"Congress Bureau of Investigation."
He said he was saying this as in most cases in which
Congress` interest was involved, CBI had either given a "clean
chit or allowed dilution of charges" as happened in the Bhopal
gas tragedy case.
The BJP President said that the Joint Director of the
CBI at the time of release of Anderson had said that this was
done under pressure from the USA.
On fuel price, Gadkari said he was opposed to withdrawal
of subsidy on various petroleum products.
"India is a poor country and its people cannot afford
withdrawal of subsidy," he said.
-PTI
