Mukul Roy resigns as PAC chairman

Kolkata: Senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Mukul Roy on Monday submitted his resignation as chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in West Bengal Assembly to Speaker Biman Banerjee saying that his tenure was about to end.

"I have sent my resignation as PAC chairman to Speaker Biman Banerjee. My tenure (as PAC chairman) was for one year and it is about to end soon. So I decided to resign," Roy said.

Roy, who won the 2021 assembly polls from Krishnanagar Uttar constituency in Nadia district, had returned to the ruling Trinamool Congress in June 2021.

He did not, however, resign as a legislator despite being asked to do so by the saffron party.

The speaker had appointed him as PAC chairman in July last year, while opposition BJP had wanted its MLA Ashok Lahiri to head the committee.

Banerjee had last month rejected the Leader of Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari's plea for disqualifying Roy as MLA saying he did not find merit in the argument of

the petitioners.

Ambika Roy, a BJP legislator, had moved Calcutta High Court in July last year challenging Roy's election as chairman of the Public Accounts Committee and prayed for the nomination of an opposition member to the post as per tradition.

Meanwhile, the Speaker said he is yet to receive the letter and would take necessary action once he gets it.