Veteran Trinamool Congress leader Tapas Roy quits as MLA
The Hindu
TMC leader Tapas Roy resigns from party and Assembly, citing displeasure over party's functioning and lack of support.
Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Tapas Roy on March 4 resigned from the party and membership of the West Bengal Assembly, expressing displeasure over the functioning of the party.
"I have submitted my resignation as an MLA to the Assembly Speaker. I am now a free bird," he said.
Mr. Roy, TMC deputy chief whip in the Assembly, slammed the party leadership for not standing by him when his residence was raided by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in January.
“I am really 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. Secondly, I do not support the way the Sandeshkhali issue was handled,” he said.
Senior TMC leaders Kunal Ghosh and Bratya Basu met Mr. Roy at his residence on March 4 morning in an attempt to pacify him.
Mr. Roy has been at loggerheads with TMC MP from North Kolkata, Sudip Bandopadhyay.
“I have been a loyal soldier of the party for the last 25 years. But I did not get my due,” he said.
The Election Commission of India will hold a press conference on June 3, a day before the counting of votes polled in the Lok Sabha polls. Till the 2019 parliamentary polls, deputy election commissioners used to hold media briefings after each phase of polls, but the practice has been done away with.