Roy, the former second-in-command of the TMC who joined the saffron party in November 2017, has been distancing himself from the BJP for the last several days.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national vice president Mukul Roy along with his son Subhranshu joined back Trinamool Congress on Friday in presence of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Soon after joining, Roy said, "I feel great at seeing my old colleagues, after leaving the BJP. In the present circumstances, no one will stay in Bharatiya Janata Party." In the recently-concluded Assembly elections, BJP fell short of its prediction of winning more than 200 seats in the West Bengal Assembly elections. The saffron party managed to secure just 77 seats.
When asked about any other turncoats joining back the Trinamool, Roy said, "Let's see." "Those who criticized the party, betrayed the party before elections for BJP, for money, we will not consider them. Only gentle and sober people will be allowed to come back," Mamata quipped.
Replying to many uncomfortable questions about his repeated attacks on Mamata Banerjee in the past, Roy replied: "I never had any differences with Didi."
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Roy, the former second-in-command of the TMC who joined the saffron party in November 2017, has been distancing himself from the BJP for the last several days.
He had left the TMC over alleged disagreements with the party's top leadership on certain issues, including differences with Abhishek, the nephew of the chief minister.
Asked about the reason behind welcoming Roy back into the fold, Mamata said, "Ghorer chhele ghore phirlo (Mukul has returned home," stressing that he was never a traitor like the others.
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Amid reports of his joining his old party back, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had spoken to Roy on Thursday to enquire about the health of his ailing wife. Interestingly, Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee had also paid a visit to Mukul Roy's wife and had enquired about her health.
