'BJP even tried to kill Abhishek but...': Mamata Banerjee makes big claim in Birbhum and Burdwan rally

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said that the BJP attempted to kill her nephew and Trinamool Congress's second-in-command, Abhishek Banerjee. She made this statement during election campaigns in Birbhum and Burdwan.

“One of the gaddars (traitors) in the BJP said a bomb will explode. If you have a grudge against me, you can kill me with a bomb. You even tried to kill Abhishek but we came to know in advance. They even conducted a recce of his house, called him on Facetime and sought an appointment,” Banerjee said during an election campaign at Birbhum's Tarapith.

She added, “Had Abhishek given him (the alleged perpetrator) time, he would have shot and fled.”

Kolkata Police announced the arrest of a person from Mumbai on Monday for allegedly conducting surveillance of Abhishek Banerjee's residence and offices with intentions of causing harm. The accused, identified as Rajaram Rege, is reportedly connected to the 26/11 attack in Mumbai. He has been brought to Kolkata and charged under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code, including criminal conspiracy and criminal intimidation.

“These people want to kill everyone or put them behind bars for speaking against them. If you are confident that you will get votes, then what is the need to terrorise people?,” Banerjee said.

Banerjee further added, “They used to keep Kesto (Anubrata Mondol) in house arrest every time during the elections but could they stop people from voting? The people of Birbhum will always cast their votes.”

The Chief Minister responded to the Calcutta High Court's ruling on the teachers' recruitment scam by expressing concern about the potential consequences. She questioned, "If all teachers are terminated, then who will take classes in the schools?"

She added, “Will you take responsibility if a candidate commits suicide? Don’t worry, I will fight the case as best as I can. Teachers, who worked for eight years, have they not developed social respect? From where will we recruit so many teachers? Will the children come to school (if there are no teachers)? Will the BJP, RSS people go and teach?”

During her election campaign rally in Raigunj on Monday, Banerjee criticized the High Court order, calling it "illegal." She assured support to those who lost their jobs due to the verdict, promising to seek justice and challenge the order in a higher court.

A division bench of the Calcutta High Court on Monday invalidated the illegal recruitment of 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff by the 2016 School Service Commission (SSC). The court directed them to refund their salaries with interest. Additionally, the bench, headed by Justice Debangsu Basak, mandated fresh recruitment for the positions within 15 days. The decision came after the court found that the OMR sheets of Group C, Group D, Class IX, and X were tampered with in 2016, rendering all the recruitments unlawful.

Justice Basak stated that the names of those who were recruited were unlawfully included in the panel. He emphasized that the only option left was to cancel the entire recruitment panel.