Bhopal, (IANS): The survivors of the Bhopal gas tragedy — which struck the state capital nearly 33 years ago — on Thursday appealed to voters not to vote for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for allegedly going back on promises made to the victims/survivors of the tragedy.
In the run-up to the February 24 bypolls in Mungawali and Shivpuri Assembly constituencies in Madhya Pradesh, the survivors distributed pamphlets and pasted posters to voice their demands on buses proceeding towards Mungawali, Kolaras and Chanderi from Nadra bus stand in the state capital.
“It is very important to tell the voters about the truth regarding the lies of the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government vis-a-vis the tragedy survivors who have now launched a campaign against the ruling BJP,” said Rachna Dhingra, who has been fighting for the cause of the tragedy survivors for many years.
Their pamphlets and posters list the demands yet to be met by the government.
She said the survivors had already put up posters in the two Assembly segments and were now concentrating on their anti-BJP campaign in the state capital.
The gas tragedy occurred on the intervening night of December 2 and 3, 1984, when methyl icocynate gas leaked from the Union Carbide India Ltd (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal. Over 500,000 people were exposed to the poisonous gas and hundreds of them died subsequently.
The bypolls in the two segments were necessitated by the demise of sitting Congress MLAs. Counting of votes will be taken up on February 28.