Rajiv govt bailed out Anderson: CIA note

NEW DELHI: The suspicion that orders from the Rajiv Gandhi government at the Centre led to Union Carbide boss Warren Anderson being released from the custody of Madhya Pradesh police has been further strengthened by a declassified CIA report.
The central government was "quick to release the Union Carbide chairman from house arrest yesterday", said the report going back to December 8, 1984. Giving an explanation for Centre's intervention, it says: "New Delhi believes state officials were overly eager to score political points against the company."
Interestingly, it refers to media reports to conclude that both Centre and state governments were looking to "deflect the blame on the subsidiary", the observation suggesting that the American intelligence agency did not hold the MNC primarily responsible for the worst-ever industrial disaster.
Though the report, not surprisingly, skips any reference to diplomatic intervention as has been alleged in some quarters, it makes a strong suggestion that in releasing Anderson, Arjun Singh, the then CM of Madhya Pradesh, acted on the Centre's orders.
The report notes that criticism over the Bhopal disaster was directed at the Indian subsidiary of Union Carbide and the central government for inadequate safety measures and poor relief, and that a case of negligence has been filed.
Since the note is written some 26 years ago and declassified only in January 2002, it reflects what must be the honest assessment of the CIA station in New Delhi.