© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
Tags:
Journalism of Courage
A founding member of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), he jumped ship in 2017 and played a role in strengthening the BJP’s organisation in West Bengal before returning back to the TMC fold after the BJP failed to unseat Mamata Banerjee in 2021. Now, Mukul Roy says he is still in the BJP – technically he is the party’s MLA – but neither the TMC nor the Opposition party in West Bengal want him.
On Wednesday, as the former railways minister said he was a BJP MLA and there was no question of him resigning from the TMC, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said he was free to go anywhere in the country and the BJP called him a “spent force” and added it did not want him back.
“Mukul Roy is a BJP MLA. It is his choice where he goes. It can be Delhi or Mumbai or Punjab. As far as I know, his son has filed a missing person complaint and the police will investigate the matter and see whether he is indeed missing or unwell. I have nothing to say on this matter,” the TMC chief said when asked about Roy’s comments.
Earlier in the day, Roy, who reached Delhi on Monday night, told a TV news channel that he would like to meet BJP president J P Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. “I was always with the BJP and I will remain with the party if they offer me work. There is no question of resigning from the TMC. I am not even a part of it. I have already resigned from the TMC,” he said.
When asked why he came to Delhi without informing his family, Roy said, “I am free to go anywhere. I have heard that a missing person complaint was lodged. But it is a family matter and will be resolved. I am a BJP MLA. I want to be with the BJP. The party has made arrangements for my stay here. I want to meet Amit Shah and speak to J P Nadda. ”
He added, “I was not keeping well for quite some time, so I was away from politics. But right now, I am fine and will be active in politics again.”
BJP leaders in Bengal, however, said the party was no longer interested in Mukul’s return. “He (Mukul Roy) is a rejected leader. The BJP does not need him. We are not interested. Those who left the BJP after May 2021 when the party workers were being tortured in the state, cannot be a BJP leader,” said Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Suvendu Adhikari.
State BJP president Sukanta Majumdar said that while Mukul remains a BJP MLA on paper, the party had sought his disqualification. “Of course, he is a BJP MLA as he won the Assembly election on a BJP ticket. People did not vote for him but for the BJP. After he returned to the TMC, we moved court seeking his disqualification as a BJP MLA. We cannot say anything more on this right now,” said Majumdar.
Roy, who was the second-in-command of the TMC and the party’s master strategist, joined the BJP in 2017. He was instrumental in helping BJP win 18 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal in the 2019 general elections.
