New Delhi: After the organisational changes last week, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has said that Mamata Banerjee's confidant Mukul Roy is no longer at the number two position in the party hierarchy.
Party spokesperson Derek O'Brien yesterday said that Roy will continue to be the leader of the TMC Parliamentary party but will not represent it in the all-party meeting convened by the Lok Sabha Speaker on Sunday either.
The Rajya Sabha MP said that he himself and Lok Sabha MP Kalyan Banerjee will attend the meeting.
Last week, Banerjee carried out a major reshuffle in the party set-up, giving additional responsibilities to her close confidants and elevating former union minister Dinesh Trivedi to vice-president's post in an exercise that left her close aide Mukul Roy out in the cold.
Roy was asked to share responsibility as all-India general secretary with Subrata Bakshi, a staunch Mamata loyalist.
Roy, a Rajya Sabha member who was recently quizzed by CBI in the Saradha chit fund scam, not being given additional responsibilities that were given to some of his party colleagues, came amid media speculation of strained ties between him and the party supremo.
Meanwhile, reports have emerged that Roy, known for his organisational skills, is trying to get close to the BJP but the saffron party has decided against taking him on board.
