'Want To Be With BJP': Senior TMC Leader Mukul Roy Hints At Rejoining Party
The TMC leader further stated that he is "100 per cent confident that he would never be associated with the TMC".
New Delhi: Senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Mukul Roy on Tuesday night said that he is still a legislator of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and would like to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah as he intends to rejoin the saffron party, reported PTI.
"I am a BJP legislator. I want to be with the BJP. The party has made arrangements for my stay here. I want to meet Amit Shah and speak to (party president) J P Nadda," according to PTI he told a Bengali news channel late on Tuesday evening.
He further stated that he is "100 per cent confident that he would never be associated with the TMC".
Roy, who on Monday night travelled to New Delhi for "some personal work", even as his family initially claimed that he was "missing." Later, they accused the BJP of engaging in dirty politics by exploiting the TMC leader, who is unwell and not in the "right frame of mind."
Reacting to Mukul Roy's statement, Trinamool leader Saugata Roy said, "Mukul Roy was unwell and his mental balance was not stable. Sometimes he would say he is with BJP and sometimes with TMC. His son has stated that he is unwell mentally."
He said he was unsure of which political party he belongs to.
"He was earlier with BJP and then joined TMC but did not resign as a legislator because action would have been taken against him under the anti-defection law," he said.
"We sympathize with Mukul. He is a finished force," he further added.
"Mukul is not a victim of any conspiracy. He is an individual - what has been his role in the past year? Nothing. Therefore, it does not matter whether he stays or goes," he added.
Mukul Roy asserted, "I was not keeping well for quite some time, so I was away from politics. But right now, I am fine and would again be active in politics,"
Sharing a piece of advice for his son Subharanghsu, Roy said, "He too should join the BJP as it would suit him best," he said.
The founding member of the TMC switched to the BJP in 2017. He won as a BJP candidate in the 2021 West Bengal assembly election. He, however, returned to the Trinamool Congress soon after without resigning from the House.
Since late Monday evening, the drama over Roy's whereabouts evolved when the family members of the TMC leader claimed he was "untraceable".
The former railway minister's son Subhrangshu had told PTI that his father was "untraceable" and "missing" since late Monday evening.
After reaching Delhi last night, Roy told reporters that he reached the national capital but had "no specific agenda".
"I have come to Delhi. There is nothing specific agenda. I have been an MP for several years. Can I not come to Delhi? Earlier, I used to come to Delhi regularly. I am an MLA and MP of Delhi," he had said, reported PTI.
Subhrangshu, who too had switched over to the saffron camp, said his father is "extremely unwell" and suffers from "dementia and Parkinson's disease".
"My father is not in the right frame of mind. I would request everyone not to do politics with an unwell person. After he went missing, I had also filed a police complaint last night," he told reporters.