Tribute to 26/11, Bhopal feels left out

US president Barack Obama’s gesture towards the 26/11 victims cut open the wounds of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy victims.

“We are really pained that no one from America has even bothered to say sorry to these [Bhopal] victims, who have been suffering for 26 years,” Madhya Pradesh minister Babulal Gaur said.

"I wished to call on president Obama and give him a memorandum, but since it wasn’t possible I gave a copy to governor of Rajasthan Rameshwar Thakur, who is to attend the president’s banquet, he said.

The memorandum has two primary demands — one relates to the compensation that needs to be paid to the Bhopal gas tragedy victims and the other to sanitisation of the Union Carbide plant site in Bhopal.

“President Obama’s position on the BP oil spill encouraged us. We want him to apply the same standards to Bhopal and also want his commitment to cleaner enviroment to result in sanitisation of the tragedy site,” Gaur said.