Veteran TMC leader Mukul Roy, who kept political pundits guessing about his next move, said on Tuesday night that he is still a BJP MLA and would like to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah as he is keen to return to the saffron camp.
Roy, who traveled to New Delhi on Monday night for “some personal work”, even as his family initially claimed he was “missing”, only to later use the TMC leader to attack the BJP. who are unwell and not in the “right frame of mind”.
“I am a BJP MLA. I want to be with BJP. The party has made arrangements for my stay here. I want to meet Amit Shah and talk to (party president) JP Nadda.
The founding members of TMC switched to the BJP in 2017. He won the 2011 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election as a candidate of the saffron party. However, he soon returned to the Trinamool Congress without resigning from the House.
“I was not keeping well for a long time, so I was away from politics. But now I am fine and will be active in politics again.
He added that he was “100 per cent sure that he would never join hands with the TMC”.
Roy also had a piece of advice for his son, Subhranshu. “He should also join the BJP as it would be most suitable for him,” he added.
The drama over Roy’s whereabouts began late Monday evening after the TMC leader’s family members claimed that he was “missing”.
After reaching Delhi last night, Roy told reporters that he had reached the national capital but had no specific agenda.
“I have come to Delhi. There is no specific agenda. I have been an MP for many years. Can’t I come to Delhi? Earlier I used to come to Delhi regularly. I am MLA and MP from Delhi.
Subhranshu, son of the former railway minister, had told PTI-language that his father was missing and missing since late Monday evening.
As there was speculation that Roy might rejoin the BJP, Subhranshu, who had also crossed over to the saffron camp, said that his father was “extremely unwell” and was suffering from “dementia and Parkinson’s disease”.
“My father is not in a good mood. I would request everyone not to do politics with an unwell person. I had also filed a complaint with the police last night after he went missing.
Roy’s son also claimed that his father had “brain surgery” last month and also failed to recognize family members and close associates.
Subhranshu claimed that when he came to know on Monday night that the TMC leader was going to Delhi by air, he had requested the authorities to drop him, but by then “the flight had taken off”.
Subhranshu, who also returned to the TMC in 2021 along with his father, said, “The chief minister himself called to inquire about my father’s well-being.”
Speculation about Roy joining the BJP gained momentum after BJP national secretary Anupam Hazra posted a cryptic Facebook post: “Comeback”.
When contacted by a news channel, Hajra said, “It is time to wait and watch. Please wait a day or two; Very soon everything will become clear”.
Responding to Hazra’s comments, Subhranshu said it was an attempt to defame TMC and its national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.
“It is shameful that some people have stooped so low and are doing politics over my father’s visit to New Delhi. This is an attempt to malign the image of TMC and our party’s National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee.
State Parliamentary Affairs Minister and TMC leader Sovandeb Chattopadhyay accused the BJP of playing dirty politics.
“I have known Mukul Roy for the last several decades. He is so sick that he can’t recognize people and can’t even complete a sentence properly. Now if BJP wants to do politics by using an unwell person then we condemn such dirty politics.
Senior BJP leader Shubhendu Adhikari, however, said that the saffron camp was not interested in “inducting Roy back into the party”. Meanwhile, the Airport Police Station under Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate questioned Piyush Kanodia, BJP leader and once a close aide of Mukul Roy during his tenure in the saffron camp.
“Following a complaint by Mukul Roy’s son, we have questioned a local leader of South Dum Dum for his alleged involvement in the case. A senior police officer said, “We have sent some officers to New Delhi to find out what happened.”
Roy joined the BJP in 2017 after differences with the TMC leadership. He was made the National Vice President of BJP in 2020.
He won the Krishnanagar North assembly seat in 2021 on a BJP ticket and returned to TMC a month after the results were declared, complaining of “ill-treatment” by the saffron party. However, he did not resign as MLA.
He has remained away from the public eye since his return to TMC.
Roy had also resigned as the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly last year citing ill health.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)