Mamata Banerjee Targets BJP, Alleges ‘Conspiracy’ Behind Bomb Attack On Jakir Hossain

Expressing “shock” over the bomb attack on Hossain in Murshidabad on Wednesday night, Banerjee said the incident reminded her of the assassination of Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh in the 1990s.

Mamata Banerjee Targets BJP | File Image

In an indirect jibe at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee on Thursday alleged the bomb attack on state’s Labour Minister Jakir Hossain is part of a conspiracy as some people were pressuring him to join their party.

Expressing “shock” over the bomb attack on Hossain in Murshidabad on Wednesday night, Banerjee said the incident reminded her of the assassination of Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh in the 1990s.

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“Jakir Hossain is a big businessman...runs a huge beedi factory. It was a planned attack going by eyewitness accounts,” said Banerjee.

“It was a fearful blast. I am shocked. It's like the Beant Singh blast,” she added.

The Chief Minister, who visited Kolkata’s SSKM Hospital to inquire about Hossain’s health condition, expressed doubts over security lapses at the time of the attack and said the TMC Government will not allow the case to be suppressed.

The TMC chief, who announced a compensation of Rs five lakh for those seriously injured and Rs one lakh for people with minor injuries in the blast, also held the railways responsible for the incident.

Unidentified people had hurled a bomb at the Labour Minister at Nimtita railway station in Murshidabad. 

The West Bengal CID has begun a probe into the incident, which took place when Hossain was walking with his supporters.