"Insulted And Hurt": Bengal Leader Tapas Roy Quits Trinamool, Party Responds

Dealing a blow to the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress, veteran leader Tapas Roy quit his party and resigned as its MLA on Monday, citing disillusionment with the TMC leadership.

Mr Roy submitted his resignation to Assembly Speaker Biman Banerjee and stated that he had already put in his papers on March 1 for the multiple party and government positions he held.

Mr Roy, a five-time MLA, accused the TMC and its supremo Mamata Banerjee of "deserting him during trying circumstances", expressing his frustration over the party's silence when his residence was raided by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on January 12.

The TMC, however, alleged that mr Roy was exerting "undue pressure for a ticket" from the North Kolkata seat for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

Mr Roy's resignation gave rise to fervent speculations on whether the senior leader would join the BJP, or for that matter, any other opposition party in the state.

Mr Roy, on his part, maintained that he would take that decision in "due time".

The TMC dismissed Roy's allegations of abandonment as "baseless".

The party questioned the timing of his resignation ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, and pointed out his history of shifting party allegiance.

Mr Roy, while speaking to media persons at his Bowbazar residence in central Kolkata, criticised the party leadership for "not standing by him" when his residence was raided by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in January.

"Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee stood in the assembly and said that the ED was targeting Shajahan Sheikh. I was expecting her to speak a word or two about the raids at my place which devastated my family. But not a word was spoken," Mr Roy said, dripping with hurt.

While claiming that he has remained "spotless and free of corruption" during his entire political career, Mr Roy alleged, "I have reasons to believe that a section of my party leaders were responsible for orchestrating the ED operation at my residence. I was devastated to know that some of them were rejoicing when my house was being raided and my family members were suffering deep trauma." 

Expressing gratitude for the "opposition party leaders who reached out to him during the raid and offered solidarity", the senior leader said, "For reasons unknown to me, no leader from my party has bothered to get in touch with me. Fifty-two days have passed since the raids, yet I haven't received a single phone call from the supreme leader (Mamata Banerjee) offering her reassurance." 

Mr Roy quit the party despite minister Bratya Basu and former TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh rushing to his residence on Monday morning in their last-ditch effort to pacify and dissuade him from carrying out his decision to resign.

"I have quit as an MLA of the TMC. Earlier I had also resigned from all party posts and other government positions that I had held," he said.

Mr Roy has been at loggerheads with TMC Lok Sabha MP from North Kolkata Sudip Bandyopadhyay and was reportedly maintaining distance from the party for a while now, which included staying away from his constituency.

"I am disappointed with the way the party is functioning. I am fed up with so many allegations of corruption levelled against the party and the government. I also do not support the way the issue of Sandeshkhali was handled," he said while maintaining that the dual issues of corruption and Sandeshkhali were the primary triggers for his decision to quit.

Mr Roy's move came less than a week after Kunal Ghosh tendered his resignation from the dual positions of TMC spokesperson and state secretary.

Referring to Ghosh's efforts to dissuade him from quitting, Roy smirked and said, "At the time when Kunal was trying to convince me not to leave, he was slapped with a show-cause notice by TMC general secretary Subrata Bakshi. Such is this party." He added, "Those in the party who should be suspended, show-caused and expelled are thriving happily in their positions. It's becoming untenable for me to work under such circumstances." Asserting that the 'insults, ignominy, and indifference' he suffered in TMC, the leader said he has been a loyal soldier of the party for the last 25 years.

"But I never got my dues or the respect I deserved," he said.

The TMC, however, questioned the timing of Roy's resignation and claimed that his grievances were due to external pressures or a quest for personal gain.

Senior TMC leader and MP Kalyan Banerjee was more direct in his criticism.

"For quite some time, Roy was making baseless allegations against party leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay. He was trying to exert pressure by using several undue means. He was trying to blackmail the party for a ticket from the North Kolkata seat. Now, he may join the BJP," he said.

According to TMC sources, the allegation that the party deserted Roy was "untrue" as "the party got in touch with him just two days after the ED raids in January".

"The party got an impression that he had made up his mind and was under some compulsion," the TMC sources said.

Mr Roy, a former leader of Chhatra Parishad, the student's wing of the Congress, joined the TMC just months ahead of the 2001 assembly polls.

A five-time MLA from north Kolkata, Roy has represented constituencies like Vidyasagar and Burra Bazar before tightening his political grip on Baranagar where he remained undefeated since 2011. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)