RSP to demand explanation from Abani

The Revolutionary Socialist Party appears all set to thwart Abani Roys alleged design of resigning from the party to preempt disciplinary action against him. The partys central secretariat met in Kolkata on Wednesday and decided that Roy would be summoned immediately after general secretary T J Chandrachooran returns from abroad. RSP leaders here said that Roy must give an explanation for his conduct.

Roy was asked to explain himself after he wrote to the Prime Minister asking him to stop the proposed merger of Bharti Airtel with South African company MTN,arguing this deal would compromise national security. He had also urged the PM to stop all government functionaries from using Airtel mobile services. The contents of the letter were reported by the The Indian Express early July.

Kshiti Goswami,RSP central secretariat member,said they were not aware of the resignation submitted by Abani Roy to Chandrachooran. We came to know about his resignation from the media. We had no knowledge about his letter to the Prime Minister either. After The Indian Express reports,both Chandrachooran and I had said that it cannot be an affair of a political party to poke into corporate affairs, said Goswami. Party sources said the central leadership is certain to expel him. However,Roy is the only RSP member in the Rajya Sabha. His term is slated to end in 2011.