New Delhi: Adding to the displeasure with the Congress over Bhopal gas leak tragedy, party’s most vocal spokesman and legal honcho Abhishek Manu Singhvi was on Thursday sucked into the storm after it came to light that he had offered legal advice to Dow Chemical, the US company which bought over Union Carbide in 2001.
As per the findings of a news channel, Singhvi had offered legal advice to Dow Chemicals, in 2006, on whether it would be held accountable in any way post its acquisition of Union Carbide.
The sensational report claims that Singhvi was asked to offer legal advice to Dow by Prime Minister’s Principal Secretary TKA Nair.
Offering his assessment of the legal point, Singhvi told Dow that it cannot be in anyway held accountable for what happened in Bhopal as it had acquired Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) years after the deadly tragedy in 1984.
More importantly, Singhvi told Dow that it will not be liable for the contamination and its clean-up as it can’t be seen as the successor-in-business of Union Carbide.
It can be argued on whether there is a conflict of interest in Singhvi helping Dow, but what surely goes against him is the fact that he replied to the chemical company on his official - Congress spokesperson - letter head.
Abhishek Singhvi has quickly come out with his defence.
“The allegation is laughable, it has nothing to do with Bhopal,” Singhvi told the news channel from the US.
As per him, the only point on which he gave legal advice was whether UCIL and Dow Chemicals are related to each other in anyway.
“It is a legal issue and has no connection (with Bhopal) or my political standing,” he said.
