Bhopal Gas Tragedy: PM says India to convince US to extradite Anderson

Onboard Air India One, June 29 (ANI): The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, on Monday said that he and his government would try to convince the United States to favourably consider the extradition of former Union Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson for his role in the December 1984 Bhopal Gas Tragedy.

"We will try to ensure that the US Government takes a more favourable attitude towards extradition, but we have not approached them yet," said Dr. Singh.

"I did not raise this issue in my discussions with President Obama (in Toronto on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit). We will cross the bridge when we come to it," Singh told media persons onboard Air India One.

When asked whether he saw the tragedy as the collective failure of the government, the political establishment and the judiciary, Dr. Singh said: "What we propose to do has been made clear by the GOM (Group of Ministers), whose report has been endorsed by the Cabinet.

"It is a fact, it is true that our judicial processes are time consuming. That it should have taken 25 years before the case could be decided, is something that we have to reflect about, and the inadequacies of our judicial system."

When probed on whether the Congress establishment should come clean - on who was responsible for letting Anderson leave India, Dr. Singh said: "We are not hiding anything. I think the GOM has looked at the records. There is nothing that they came across by way of definite findings, as to who took the decision. Thos records are not available now." By Ashok Dixit (ANI)