Who bears responsibility – the Bhopal plant or Union Carbide in the United States?
Despite Union Carbide charges that India’s regulations are either weak or nonexistent, Indian officials counter that the responsibility rests with Union Carbide. The Indians say that the Americans constructed the plant and that the Indians had sought iron-clad safety assurances. Pending the outcome of the investigation, the Indian officials were not willing to say what assurances were given. (The government of Madhya Pradesh State filed a criminal suit Thursday against the owners of the Bhopal factory, Reuters reported) In the meantime, Bhopal staggers under the weight of its personal tragedy. And the Congress Party chief minister, Arjun Singh, a protege of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, must clearly be concerned about its impact during the campaign for the December 24 parliamentary poll. Perhaps that explains the comment of G.K. Moopanaz, the party’s general secretary, that “sabotage cannot be ruled out.
