Kolkata: Trinamool Congress leader Mukul Roy on Monday announced his resignation from the party and the Rajya Sabha, adding he will formally put in his papers after the Durga Puja break.
"Right now I am resigning from the working committee. I will resign from the primary membership and Rajya Sabha soon. Will soon announce my next course of action," Roy said.
When asked he clarified, "After five days I will explain everything. People are now busy in celebrating Durga Puja and therefore I have decided to reveal the reason only after that."
Mukul Roy is widely known as the next big name in the Trinamool Congress ranks, with him being considered West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's right-hand man.
There were recent reports that Roy was in touch with the BJP and may join the saffron brigade soon. His resignation is bound to have a grave impact on the next election and the poll arithmetic in Bengal.
Hours after Roy resignation, TMC General Secretary Partha Chatterjee announced that Roy has been suspended from the party for six years. Chatterjee said the decision was taken after consultation with party supremo Mamata Banerjee.
“For the last three years, he was hobnobbing with the BJP to create a rift in TMC. He was actively involved in breaking the TMC with the help of BJP. Despite knowing all this, our party chief Mamata Banerjee gave him enough time to rectify his fault. I personally met him but he was continuously involved in conspiring against the party,” he said.
Chatterjee said Roy was given plum posts my Mamata even though he lost elections from Jagatdal. “She even made him a Rajya Sabha MP. I don’t know why he was doing all this against the party. I think the maharaj (Mukul) became too old to see or recall the favours he received from Mamata Banerjee.”
Chatterjee also questioned why Roy was taking so much time to resign as MP. “He should resign immediately. Why he giving all excuse that he will resign after Puja.”
On Saturday, West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh said the estranged Trinamool Congress leader was in touch with the top leadership of his party, but stopped short of saying whether he would join the BJP.
"He (Roy) is a big leader. I am not aware whether he would join the BJP or not. But he is in touch with our leaders in New Delhi," he said.
The TMC and its chief Mamata Banerjee, had censured Roy for allegedly hobnobbing with BJP leaders, and drawn the line by saying it was keeping a close watch on him.
Once the second-in-command in the TMC after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Roy, a Rajya Sabha MP, has had a strained relationship with the party. Roy was embroiled in the Saradha chit fund scam and was under CBI scanner in 2015. He was then sidelined from the party, in which he used to enjoy an influential position.
During Trinamool Congress’ core committee meeting at Banerjee’s Kalighat residence, the party supremo had said that those who wanted to join other parties are free to do so, but any anti-party activity will not be tolerated.
There were rumours that ever since CBI and the Enforcement Directorate started probe TMC leaders in the Narada and Saradha scam, some party leaders including Mukul, were desperately trying to reach out to BJP to save themselves from the probe agencies.
On August 30, Mukul was removed as the chairman of the standing committee on transport, tourism and culture in Rajya Sabha for his alleged proximity with the BJP leaders in New Delhi.
More recently, he was absent from the event to unveil the Durga Puja edition of the TMC mouthpiece, 'Jago Bangla', on September 19.The special edition of the party mouthpiece was unveiled by Banerjee and the entire TMC top brass, barring Roy, was present at the event.
Roy was recently removed as the TMC vice-president after the party decided to restructure its committee.
He was earlier removed as the party's in-charge of Tripura, where the TMC was steadily making inroads till its members switched over to the BJP earlier this year.
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