By Pervez Bari, TwoCircles.net,
Bhopal: Irked by near total neglect the leaders of the five NGOs (non-government organizations) working for the welfare of survivors of the Bhopal gas tragedy, the world's worst industrial disaster in December 1984, have launched their campaign to educate the gas-affected voters in the walled city about the NOTA, (None of the Above), option of rejecting all candidates in the poll-bound Madhya Pradesh where polling for the state Vidhan Sabha (Legislative Assembly) is scheduled for November 25.
A decision to this effect was announced by the NGOs here on Wednesday at a Press Conference. At present Madhya Pradesh along with four other states is in the thick of electioneering for the state legislature. In the state it is traditionally a two horse race for political power viz. ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, (BJP), and Congress, the main Opposition party, which are jostling with each other to woo the voters.
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Representatives of NGOs working for the welfare of survivors of Bhopal Gas Tragedy displaying their NOTA decision in the ensuing Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh
Rashida Bee, president of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmchari Sangh, said that the two principal parties, BJP and Congress have equally denied the gas victims their legal rights to adequate compensation and both have provided support to the offending multinationals – Union Carbide and Dow Chemical.
Balkrishna Namdeo, president of Bhopal Gas Peedit Nirashrit Pension Bhogi Sangharsh Morcha, said that the BJP and the Congress have mainly been in power at the state and the centre in the last nearly three decades. The forthcoming elections are an opportunity for the over 8 hundred thousand voters from gas affected families to oppose the betrayal by both these political parties.
Rachna Dhingra of the Bhopal Group for Information and Action said that in the light of documentary evidence of harm caused to the interests of the gas affected people by both the political parties, the NOTA option was best suited for the gas affected people.
“We will distribute pamphlets, address public meetings and present the charges against the governments under both the parties and tell our people about the NOTA option”, said Nawab Khan, president of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha.
Safreen Khan of Children Against Dow Carbide said that many second generation survivors are angry at the treatment meted out to their families by governments run by both the parties. “It is indeed sad and telling that our first step in to democracy is the NOTA button”, she said.
What have the two main political parties namely BJP and Congress done for the Bhopal Gas Victims in the last 29 years? A brief comparison of the two parties’ contributions for the gas victims is listed as follows: -
BJP Government | Congress Government |
Compensation for Gas Victims | |
Empty promise of providing each gas victims with compensation of Rs.5 lakh | Colluded with Union Carbide and entered into a paltry settlement |
Downplaying of injuries caused by the gas disaster | Downplaying of injuries caused by the gas disaster. |
Compensation for people affected by ground water contamination | |
Downplaying the extent of contamination of soil and ground water caused by Union Carbide’s hazardous waste | Downplaying the extent of contamination of soil and ground water caused by Union Carbide’s hazardous waste |
No health monitoring for people affected by ground water contamination | No health monitoring for people affected by ground water contamination |
Medical Care for Gas Victims | |
No Treatment Protocol implemented for gas victims | Treatment Protocol for only one lung problem |
Non implementation of recommendations of Monitoring Committee to improve Medical Care of Gas Victims | Non implementation of recommendations of Advisory Committee to improve Medical Care of Gas Victims |
Support to Union Carbide or Dow Chemical Company | |
Tried Diluting criminal charges against Anderson | Escorted Anderson out of Bhopal and let him go |
BJP senior leader Arun Jaitely gave legal opinion absolving Dow Chemical of its legal liability | Congress leaders and former spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi gave legal opinion absolving Dow Chemical of its legal liability |
Jobs for Gas Victims | |
Corruption and inefficiency in providing jobs to gas victims | No monitoring of utilization of funds allocated for providing jobs to gas victims |
Opposed formation of Empowered Commission on Bhopal | Approved Empowered Commission on Bhopal for rehabilitation of gas victims |
Clean up of Toxic Waste | |
Despite evidence of severe contamination no action on comprehensive scientific assessment | Despite evidence of severe contamination no action on comprehensive scientific assessment |
First opposed Incineration of toxic waste at Pithampur and now has shown willingness to incinerate it in December | Pushed for incineration of 350MT of toxic waste in unsafe facility in Pithampur |
Meanwhile, it may be recalled here that on the intervening night of December 2-3, 1984 Union Carbide pesticide manufacturing factory had spewed poisonous Methyl Iso-cyanate gas whereby 3000 people had perished virtually instantly and over the years more than 25000 have kissed death and the sad saga is still continuing uninterruptedly. About half a million are suffering from the side effects of the poisonous gas and several thousand people have been maimed for life.