Against the backdrop of the judgement on the Bhopal gas tragedy, senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi today said the party would oppose the Nuclear Liability Bill both in Parliament and outside it.

"We will oppose the Nuclear Bill in and outside Parliament," Joshi told reporters, adding it was time to rethink and reconsider the Bill in the interest of the people of the country.

Referring to the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Russia, the BJP leader said the incident took place in a country where the population density is scarce while in India such incidents would be a disaster as the density of population here is one of the highest in the world.

"It is necessary to look into the safety and security of all such plants," he said and charged the United States with not considering India as a developed country or even an emerging power.

"If due to small gas leakage, thousands die and thousands suffer from genetic disorders, lakhs would be affected if such a disaster struck a nuclear facility," he said and demanded that "polluter pays" principle should be the basis of any such Bill.

Referring to the Bhopal gas disaster and Warren Anderson fleeing the country, Joshi said the Congress government at that time under "US pressure" allowed him to escape from India.

"The Union Carbide had no equipment with security features to check such leakage... Now facts have come that Anderson knew what kind of leakage would take place and from where. One person had died earlier due to this leakage," the former Union Minister said.

Coming down heavily on Arjun Singh, Joshi said he was the Chairman of the Group of Ministers looking after the rehabilitation of the Bhopal gas victims but what has he done on this front.

The BJP leader was also critical of the judiciary saying that its interpretation of the law (Section 304-A) is being questioned now and called for reforms in the judiciary.

"The Supreme Court should seriously consider the kind of view taken then in this case," he said, adding there was a need to give maximum possible sentence in such cases.

"If the executive and the judiciary neglect the interests of the people, the faith in democratic institutions would come down," the BJP leader said.

Asked what did the BJP do as it was in power in Madhya Pradesh, Joshi said the party had been repeatedly demanding the extradition of Anderson. To a query about the divergent views emerging in the Congress on the issue, Joshi said Congressmen are "guilty" as it was the ruling party then in the state and the Centre.

"In order to conceal and camouflage their guilt, they are saying this... Responsibility should be fixed and action taken," he said.

On the role of the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh, Joshi said only Singh can respond why he is silent. "Perhaps he does not have anything to say to protect himself," he said.