TMC suspends Mukul Roy's son for 6 years

Kolkata: The Trinamool Congress on Friday suspended its Bijpur legislator Subhranshu Roy for a period of six years for making anti-party comments. Roy's activities had been under the scanner of the top party leadership particularly after his father Mukul Roy shunned the TMC and joined the BJP in November 2017.

"He has been constantly making such statements that we feel has affected the image of the party. The discipline of the party should be prioritised and the party felt that he had not towed the party line on more than one occasions. So we have been compelled to take this tough decision. Our party's disciplinary body, after consultation with party supremo Mamata Banerjee, has decided to expel him," Trinamool Congress secretary general Partha Chatterjee said on Friday.

Earlier in the day, Subhranshu held a press conference in his own Assembly constituency and heaved praises on the organisational skills of his turncoat father Mukul Roy. He claimed that he tried his best to give party's Barrackpore candidate Dinesh Trivedi a lead from his Assembly constituency but failed to do so as his father proved to be a better organiser than him.

"I have lost to my father. He is a real Chanakya of Bengal politics. I feel proud to be the son of Mukul Roy who had earlier played a pivotal role in TMC gaining strength in Bengal and now he has been instrumental in uprooting it. Our party has lost and people voted against us. We should accept it," Roy said.

According to him, both he and his father have done the best for their respective parties. But people have chosen his father. "Many people had said that if one Mukul Roy leaves, they will make hundreds of Mukul Roys. I just want to say, Mukul Roy who was there since the inception of the party has now single-handedly destroyed it," Roy added. Though he did not say anything about shifting allegiance to the saffron party following the footsteps of his father but after his statement speculations of him leaving the party have become stronger.

Roy further alleged that a section of the party leadership had questioned his allegiance to TMC even after he continued to be loyal to the party.