New Delhi, Dec 15 (IANS): India must protest Dow Chemicals' sponsorship of the 2012 Olympics, says Anurag Singh Thakur, executive member of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP, referring to the company's connection with the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy.
"A protest must be registered with the organisers of the London Olympics. A serious debate is needed. We can display black bands while participating," Thakur, president of the BJP's youth wing, told IANS in an interview.
"The whole country is angered that the company responsible for the death of thousands of innocent people in Bhopal is sponsoring the Olympics," said the 37-year-old MP from Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh.
He accused the government of taking no concrete steps against Dow, which bought Union Carbide.
Union Carbide's pesticide plant in Bhopal saw the world's worst industrial disaster in December 1984 that killed many thousand people. Government records showed 5,295 deaths, 4,902 with permanent disability, 35,455 with temporary disability and 527,894 with minor injuries.
"The person responsible (former Union Carbide chairman Warren Andersen) was let out by then chief minister of Madhya Pradesh (Arjun Singh) and prime minister (Rajiv Gandhi), and now Dow is sponsoring Olympics," he said.
According to the parliamentarian, the issue has been raised with acting president of the IOA, V.K. Malhotra.
The elder son of Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, Thakur was elected to the Lok Sabha in 2008. He is also the youngest president of the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA).
Thakur, who was behind the BJP's campaign to unfurl the Indian flag at Lal Chowk in Srinagar on the last Republic Day, strongly advocates more youth joining politics, specially at the grassroots level.
"The youth of India are entrusted with responsibility and they can bring real change. They need to look towards decentralised politics," he said.
According to rough calculations based on the 2011 Census, half of India's population is under 25 and two-thirds is under 40 years.
"The problem of development not reaching the poor, issues of corruption which make commoners suffer - they can be solved by strengthening grassroots politics," he said.
About corruption, the BJP leader said the common man is frustrated with the government's attitude towards the menace and that reflects in movements like the one led by Anna Hazare.
"More and more involvement of people in the legislative process is needed. People's voice needs to be heard," he said.