The organisations working among the survivors of the December 1984 Union Carbide gas disaster in Bhopal announced their plans to garner support of political parties towards resolving the lingering issues of compensation, punishment of guilty corporations and medical and social rehabilitation.
The organizations presented copies of letters sent to a dozen political parties asking their stand with respect to eight demands on additional compensation for the gas disaster. It included, correction of figures of injury and death caused by the disaster, clean up of contaminated soil and ground water, compensation for injuries and birth defects caused by toxic contamination, setting up empowered commission for rehabilitation and stopping dow chemical from doing business in India till it presents Union Carbide in the ongoing criminal case on the disaster.
The organizations said that they have asked the political parties to describe the steps they would take to make the governments at the State and the centre agree to the demands of the victims of Union Carbide in Bhopal in case. A party supports the demands of the survivor's organizations.
The Bhopal survivors' organizations said that they will decide their strategy regarding the coming elections in the state on the basis of the response they get from political parties who have been given a month to reply. They said that if none of the parties support the demands of the gas victims or do not send their replies within a month, the organizations would encourage voters in the gas-affected areas to exercise their right to "null voting".
The organizations said that currently they are educating voters in the affected areas to ask candidates of political parties who are visiting them in preparation of the elections about their and their party's contributions towards justice and welfare of Union Carbide's victims.