People's Democracy

Protests against Bhopal

Verdict in Bengal

FROM scientists  to  workers, women and youth, the people of Bengal have strongly condemned the recent verdict on the Bhopal gas tragedy and the manner in which the  heinous crime of the perpetrators of the tragedy  has been  diluted in order to give a free run to the main accused, the then Union Carbide  chief Warren Anderson.

On June 16, at the call of CITU Bengal state committee and various other central trade unions, a huge protest meeting was held at Metro Channel in Kolkata in which hundreds participated and vented their anger against the verdict. CITU state president Shyamal Chakraborty questioned the central government’s attempts to shield the culprits of the Bhopal gas leakage from punishment in the country. Terming the centre’s decision to constitute a cabinet Group of Ministers on the issue as a futile attempt to shied the guilty from the crime they had committed, the CITU leader charged the centre also of tampering with justice by diluting the case against the accused. ‘The central government instead of taking lessons from the  Bhopal gas tragedy case is now pursuing with the  Civil Nuclear Liability Bill  in favour of the multinational companies  interested to operate  nuclear power generation units  in the country.

The  huge  crowd of   central  and state government employees and workers who had gathered  in the Metro Channel held an array of placards  demanding  justice to the victims  of the  gas tragedy  and   exemplary punishment to the  perpetrators of the  heinous crime.

CITU state secretary Kali Ghosh, AITUC leader Ranjit Guha, TUCC leader Barun Chowdhury and Shibshankar Roy of 12th July Committee, the apex body of the central and state government employees in the state, also spoke in the  rally presided over by veteran  trade union leader Saral Deb.

Various women’s organisations  too took out rallies in the state  protesting against the plight of the gas victims, majority of  who have been facing  physical and mental deformity after the gas leak  and  even now the newborns of Bhopal are bearing the   consequences of  the gas leak in 1984 in Bhopal.   Various organisations of scientists, research workers and teachers also protested against the attempt of the central  government to give a clean chit to the   accused in the case, particularly its granting a safe exit to Warren Anderson.