PM urged to help Bhopal gas victims

New Delhi, Jun 19 (UNI) Terming the Central Government's inaction on the demands of the Bhopal gas victims as a 'blot on Indian democracy,' 224 organisations, including trade unions and NGOs from 19 states across the country wrote a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh demanding immediate resolution of the problems.

The letter mentioned, "We are concerned for the health of the people who have begun an indefinite fast. In particular, we are concerned about the well-being of those among the hunger strikers already affected by Union Carbide's poisons." The open letter to the Prime Minister follows a series of agitations on the failure of the UPA Government to act on its promises. Till date, nearly 300 people from 11 countries have already signed up on www.bhopal.net to fast for a day or longer in solidarity with the Bhopalis.

The NRIs have protested outside the Indian embassies in Toronto, Boston, San Francisco and Houston. Sixteen US Congress members have written a letter urging the Prime Minister to set up a Commission for rehabilitation and aggressively pursue the American corporations for their crimes in India.

The US parliamentarians are joined by 19 Indian MPs from six political parties and 81 British MPs, Scottish legislators, more than a 100 artists and eminent writers, and 67 international organisations including 17 NRI groups who have written to the Prime Minister urging him to resolve the Bhopal demands. Besides, nearly 5200 faxes have been sent to the PMO.

Addressing a press conference today, Bhopal organisations were joined by former chief justice of the Delhi-High Court Rajindar Sachar and Prof Kamal Mitra Chenoy of JNU, who said the Government had to explain why it was hesitating to take legal action against Union Carbide and Dow Chemicals.

UNI SSS SW PK KP1845