Will Pranab Mukherjee pressure Dow at Washington conference?

Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee is likely to meet Andrew Liveris, Dow Chemicals chief, at the Indo-US Chief Executive Officers’ forum meeting in Washington on June 22. A government source said Mukherjee is expected to raise the matter of the Bhopal gas tragedy during the meeting. HT reports.

Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee is likely to meet Andrew Liveris, Dow Chemicals chief, at the Indo-US Chief Executive Officers’ forum meeting in Washington on June 22.

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Mukherjee, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia, and Commerce Minister Anand Sharma will be attending.

A government source said Mukherjee is expected to raise the matter of the Bhopal gas tragedy with the Dow Chemicals chief during their meeting.

US-based Dow Chemicals Company, which acquired Union Carbide Corporation in 2001, finds itself at the centre of controversy with opinion gaining ground, specially after the verdict on the gas tragedy case was announced on June 7 that it could not be absolved of the remaining liability for the world’s worst industrial disaster.

The source said Mukherjee, home minister P. Chidambaram and defence minister A.K. Antony met on Tuesday.

While there was no official word about what transpired at the meeting, the source said that the Bhopal gas tragedy was discussed.

The source said Mukherjee would discuss the issue with Liveris on the margins of the Indo-US CEOs’ forum meeting.