'I am free to go home,' Anderson had said after Bhopal tragedy

Comments by key players in the aftermath of the Bhopal gas tragedy give an indication about the exit of former Union Carbide CEO Warren Anderson from India with then chief minister Arjun Singh quoted as having said there was no intention to prosecute or harass anybody.

A TV channel reproduced the bytes of Anderson and Singh, before the UCC chief left the country on December 7, 1984, three days after the world's worst industrial disaster.

"House arrest or no arrest or bail, no bail, I am free to go home...There is a law of the United States...India, bye, bye, Thank you," Anderson had said.

Standing just outside the Union Carbide plant, Singh, wearing a white helmet, had said, "There was no intention to prosecute anyone or try to, sort of, harass anyone."

"Therefore, he (Anderson) was granted bail and he agreed to be present in court when the charges are made," the former Madhya Pradesh chief minister had said.

There has been a raging controversy over the tragedy with the Congress party facing heat since the June 7 verdict by a Bhopal court which has led to questions over the way its then government in Madhya Pradesh as well as at the Centre had handled the exit of Anderson and also the light punishment for the accused.

Many Congress leaders have squarely put the onus on the decision about Anderson on then Madhya Pradesh chief minister,
who has maintained a stoic silence since the trial court verdict.

The Congress and the BJP have been sparring on the issue
with the main opposition party demanding an explanation on how
Anderson was allowed to leave the country. The left parties
have demanded a trial of the accused under stringent sections
of the law, extradition of Anderson from the US and his
prosecution.

Nearly 26 years after the disaster left over 15,000 dead, former Union Carbide India chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were sentenced to two years imprisonment last week by the trial court.

With the political storm over the disaster showing no signs of abating, Prime  Minister Manmohan Singh had on Monday sought to do some damage control by directing the reconstituted Group of Ministers to meet immediately and prepare a report in 10 days.

The GoM, headed by home minister P Chidambaram, has been
asked to assess the options and remedies available to the
government in the light of the Bhopal court's verdict. It will
meet on Friday.