Kolkata: Senior TMC leader Mukul Roy said Tuesday morning that he has reached New Delhi for some personal work. This came hours after his family, especially his worried son claimed that he was "untraceable" since late Monday evening. Speaking to reporters Roy said that he has come on a visit to the national capital but he has no specific agenda.
"I have been an MP for several years. Can I not come to Delhi? Earlier, I used to come to Delhi regularly," Roy said speaking to reporters. The former railway minister's son Subhragshu Roy had even lodged a police complaint.
Reacting on his disappearance, BJP All India Vice President Dilip Ghosh said that Mukul Roy had gone 'missing' a long time ago. "There is no news of him for the last six months," he alleged adding that Roy is a great leader. "Why is there no news of him?" he questioned remarking that no one 'cares' about the leader anymore. Roy, who was once a stalwart leader has maintained a low profile following his homecoming into the TMC.
Amid reports of sudden disappearance, there were speculations in Bengal political circles about his next political move. Roy joined the saffron camp in 2017 following differences with the TMC leadership. He was known to be the second in command in the TMC, after Mamata Banerjee, before he switched over to the BJP.
In the saffron camp, Roy was made the national vice-president and was appointed as the convener of the West Bengal BJP's panchayat committee. He played a key role in the states panchayat polls in 2018. He led BJP to win 5,779-gram panchayat seats thus successfully overtaking the Left and becoming the second-largest party in the state. The TMC bagged 38,000 seats in the local body polls. The political leader has been keeping a low profile since then.
Mukul also won the Krishnanagar MLA seat in 2021 on a BJP ticket. However, he later switched sides and came back to the TMC fold after the 2021 Assembly election results. Party sources revealed that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee met Roy a couple of times inquiring about his health. The leader was admitted to a private hospital recently following reports of his deteriorating health. This was deemed as a signal to the party cadre and Roy to set things in order ahead of the panchayat polls, which is due later this year.
Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, one of the TMC turncoats who joined the saffron camp, filed a complaint against Roy's defection. However, the complaint was dismissed by the Assembly Speaker.
