Piyush Goyal condemns bomb attack on TMC minister; says 'atmosphere of violence must end'

Terming the recent bomb attack on a West Bengal minister at a railway station as 'unfortunate', Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday hit out at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led state government and called for an end to the "atmosphere of violence" in the state. The railway minister stated that he hopes serious attempts will be made to put an end to the atmosphere of violence so that the people of West Bengal can live in peace, and the state moves forward on the path of development. "We will have to work together to fulfil the aspirations of the people of the state," he added. 

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Piyush Goyal: 'State should move forward'

This statement by the Union Minister came after Minister of State for Labour Jakir Hossain was injured after unidentified attackers threw a crude bomb at him in Nimita railway station in Murshidabad on Wednesday night. 

Earlier, the Railway Minister had launched the first phase of a freight terminal at Sankrail of SER at a cost of Rs 139 crore. Apart from this, Goyal said that a warehouse will also come up at the terminal, which has eight lines for easy and fast movement of goods. He had also inaugurated a 12-metre wide second footbridge at Santragachi to facilitate movement and dispersal of passengers at the station and the project was worth Rs 20 crore.

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Crude bombs hurled at TMC Minister

In a shocking incident in poll-bound West Bengal, crude bombs were hurled at Labour Minister Jakir Hossain while he was walking towards Nimtita station to board a train for Kolkata. The incident occurred in Murshidabad when Jakir Hossain was standing on the platform of Nimtita station in the Jangipur sub-division while going to board a train for Kolkata.

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The people of his opposition group allegedly hurled bombs at the state minister after which he had to be brought to Jangipur Super Specialty Hospital for treatment. During the incident, and subsequent clashes, several of his supporters who were with Minister Jakir Hossain at the train station were also injured. According to the Indian Railways, relief and rescue measures had to be extended to 25 people post the horrific incident. Hossain is said to be stable at the moment.

Meanwhile, CM Mamata Banerjee has ordered the state CID to probe the incident and has alleged a 'conspiracy' after visiting the injured state minister. Moreover, she also shifted the blame on to the Railways saying that the security of people on the platforms fell under the purview of the Railway police and Central government and not the state police. The Indian Railways has given a strong reply to Mamata Banerjee reminding her that 'law and order is a state subject'. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has also jumped into the fray and has sought details from the state CID. 

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(With PTI inputs)