Mamata is destroying democracy by taking advantage : Mukul Roy

Speaking to ETV Bharat Bengal BJP leader Mukul Roy attacked West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee of disrespecting the federal structure of the country and destroying democracy.

Kolkata (West Bengal): Taking a dig at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Bharatiya Janta Party leader Mukul Roy accused the Trinamool Congress chief of destroying democracy by taking advantage of its provisions and of disrespecting constitutional bodies such as NITI Aayog, Election Commission, Supreme Court, among others.

Speaking to ETV Bharat, Mukul Roy, who defected to BJP after being forced to quit TMC in 2017 over his meeting with the then Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya, said, "Mamata doesn't believe in democracy. She is destroying democracy by taking its advantage. She doesn't believe in NITI Aayog, Election Commission, Supreme Court, High Court."

Roy further attacked Mamata for having lost major ground in West Bengal to BJP in the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls, "She (Mamata Banerjee) is running the state at her own whims and fancies. This is not good for a federal structure. This is the reason that the people have not given her a clear mandate as they did previously. As long as she continues to function like this, her rule would end by the next Assembly elections scheduled to take place in 2021."

With Mamata Banerjee refusing to implement the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance's flagship scheme- Ayushman Bharat- demanding a 100 per cent central funding for the scheme, Roy criticised the Bengal CM of depriving the poor of important central policies and schemes.

"Mamata is not allowing Ayushman Bharat, a scheme which has greatly benefitted the poor of the country, to be implemented in West Bengal. This is a central government scheme and in a federal structure it should reach its beneficiary, i.e, the poverty-stricken population, " said Roy.

Dismissing the benefits of the state-sponsored health insurance scheme, such as Swasthya Sathi, which was implemented in West Bengal in 2016 and offers health protection to informal contractual workers, Roy said, "Ayushman Bharat is a far better health-related scheme than the existing state government scheme in West Bengal."

The Ayushman Bharat scheme was launched in September 2018 and has not been adopted by Telangana, Odisha, and Delhi, apart from West Bengal.

Continuing his tirade against the TMC supremo, Roy added, "The 'Mamata Brand' has perished."