Kolkata: Veteran TMC leader Mukul Roy, who kept the political pundits guessing over his next move, on Tuesday night said he is still a BJP legislator and would like to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah as he is keen on returning to the party.
Roy, who on Monday night travelled to New Delhi for “some personal work”, even as his family initially claimed that he was “missing”, only to later accuse the BJP of indulging in dirty politics using the TMC leader who is unwell and not in the “right frame of mind”.
“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,” he told a Bengali news channel late on Tuesday evening.
“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,” Roy said.
He said he is “100 per cent confident that he would never be associated with the TMC”.
Roy also had a piece of advice for his son Subharanghsu. “He too should join the BJP as it would suit him best,” he said.
The drama over Mr Roy’s whereabouts evolved since late Monday evening when the family members of the TMC leader claimed he was “untraceable”.
After reaching Delhi last night, Mr 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.
The former railway minister’s son Subhrangshu had told PTI that his father was “untraceable” and “missing” since late Monday evening.
As there was speculation that Roy could rejoin the BJP, Subhrangshu, who too had switched over, 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.
“The chief minister herself had called up to inquire about my father’s well-being,” Subhrangshu, who too had returned to the TMC in 2021 along with his father, said.
Speculations over Roy rejoining the BJP gained momentum after BJP national secretary Anupam Hazra made a cryptic single word Facebook post: “Comeback”
On the other hand, TMC chief and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has reacted to Roy’s claim to support BJP. She said that Mukul Roy is a BJP MLA and it depends on him. She further said that his son earlier registered a missing complaint but she doesn’t care. “Mukul Roy is a BJP MLA and it’s totally up to him. You should ask Subhranshu, his son, who registered a missing complaint which is very serious. But this is a very small issue, we don’t care,” said West Bengal CM.
