Indore, Feb 27 (PTI) Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Thursday called the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy as the "sin of the Congress rule", and slammed the opposition party for failing to dispose of the toxic waste from the now defunct Union Carbide plant despite being in power for a long time.
His statement comes on the day the process of incinerating 10 tonnes out of the 337 tonnes of toxic waste began on a trial basis at an industrial facility in Pithampur of Dhar district.
"The Bhopal gas tragedy was a sin committed during the Congress rule, which claimed the lives of a huge number of people in one of the worst industrial disasters," Yadav told reporters.
He accused the Congress of "double standards" and demanded that the party takes responsibility for the tragedy instead of blaming others.
When asked about the disposal of waste, the CM said, "After the Bhopal gas tragedy, the Congress did not do anything regarding it despite being in power at the state and the Centre for a long time."
The decision to incinerate the Union Carbide waste at a private waste management facility in Pithampur was made by the cabinet during a Congress-led state government.
He pointed out that it was the Congress-led central government that had issued the licence for this disposal unit.
"When our government presented the facts before the court regarding the disposal of Union Carbide's waste, the truth became clear," he added.
Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court refused to intervene in the Madhya Pradesh High Court's order for the transfer and disposal of the toxic waste from the Union Carbide plant to the private facility in Pithampur.
A bench of Justices B R Gavai and A G Masih also refused to stay the trial run of disposal of the waste. The top court advised those opposing the waste disposal, including members of civil society organisations and victims' representatives, to approach the high court, which is already hearing the matter.
On the night of December 2-3, 1984, highly toxic methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas leaked from the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, killing at least 5,479 people and leaving thousands maimed. It is considered one of the worst industrial disasters so far.