TMC suspends Mukul Roy for 6 yrs

Tribune News Service & IANS

Kolkata, September 25

West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress today suspended its founding member Mukul Roy for six years for “anti-party activities”, hours after the former Railway Minister announced that he would quit the party after the Durga Puja.

Trinamool secretary general Partha Chatterjee told mediapersons here of the punitive action against Roy — a Rajya Sabha member.

“We have heard news of Mukul Roy. He has decided to quit the party after the puja. For the past few years, he has been indulging in anti-party activities and trying to weaken it from within. The Trinamool Congress disciplinary committee has recommended punishment against Mukul Roy to the party’s leader and chairperson Mamata Banerjee. Accordingly, Roy has been suspended for six years from the party,” a party communiqué said.

Accusing Roy of “succumbing to the pressure of Central agencies” — a reference to the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate probing the Saradha chit fund scam and the Narada sting footage in which Roy has been interrogated — Chatterjee wondered why he did not resign from his Rajya Sabha seat immediately.

“He has been weakening the party for his own interest and through his own plan. We wanted him to resign (now)... if he has decided to resign after puja, let him resign right now. The pujas will not be stalled if he puts in his papers now,” Chatterjee said.

Addressing a press conference earlier in the day, Roy had said he would also resign from the Rajya Sabha and quit the primary membership of the TMC after the Durga puja. He said he would send a mail to the party’s secretary general Partha Chatterjee informing him about his decision of resigning from the party’s working committee immediately after the press conference.

Roy, who is rumoured to be planning to join the BJP, was earlier removed from the TMC vice-president’s post by the party supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. At her instance, Roy was also dropped from various parliamentary committees.

Roy, whose stint in the Rajya Sabha would end in the middle of next year, said that after the Durga puja was over he would give an elaborate explanation about the reasons for his quitting the TMC. Roy also refused to answer questions about the possibility of his joining the BJP.