Press Statement

December 18, 2015

At a press conference today, leaders of the five organisations of the survivors of the Union Carbide disaster in Bhopal condemned the Prime Minister’s “spineless response” to Dow Chemical repeatedly ignoring notices of the Bhopal District Court. The organisations charged that instead of making Dow Chemical obey Indian laws, the Prime Minister chose to offer a lavish dinner to its CEO Andrew Liveris this September.

“From newspaper reports we learnt that Modijee offered Liveris thandai chicken and sevaiyan cake, among other delicacies, just nine days after the Bhopal CJM issued notice against his company for sheltering the fugitive killer Union Carbide.” said Rashida Bee of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Manila Stationery Karmchari Sangh. She said that for the last 23 years Union Carbide had been absconding from charges of culpable homicide and other serious offences related to the gas disaster that killed 25 thousand people and injured half a million.

Balkrishna Namdeo of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Nirashrit Pensionbhogee Sangharsh Morcha said that the Bhopal District Court had earlier sent two notices asking Dow Chemical to explain why it was not making Union Carbide appear in the ongoing criminal case on the disaster. “In the photo available at the @PMO twitter handle, Liveris is seen smiling in the front row along with Prime Minister Modi. If this is not an invitation to “Make more Bhopals in India” we do not know, what is?” he said.

“Dow Chemical, a US multinational like Union Carbide, is defying the Indian justice system while continuing to make millions of dollars as profits through its business in India and the Indian Prime Minister is pleading to Liveris to invest more in the country. For us Bhopalis it is outrageous and disgusting” said  Nawab Khan of Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha

Satinath Sarangi of the Bhopal Group for Information and Action pointed out that the notices against Dow Chemical have been issued by the Bhopal District Court due to the interventions by his organization, and not by the prosecuting agency the Central Bureau of Investigation. “Tomorrow we will see whether the CBI helplessly watches Dow Chemical ignore Court’s order a third time, or whether it summons the courage to take effective legal action against the criminal corporation.” he said.

“We hope our Prime Minister has instructed the CBI to go hard against this criminal company that is sheltering killer Carbide. This way he can also prove that he is not all that the chief minister of Delhi says he is.” said Safreen Khan of Children against Dow Carbide.

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