Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Former Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Tapas Roy on Wednesday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the general elections, due in a few weeks.
Senior TMC leader Tapas Roy quit as an MLA, expressing displeasure over the functioning of the party on Monday.
"I have submitted my resignation as an MLA to the Assembly speaker. I am now a free bird," he said.
Speaking on leaving the party, Tapas Roy said, "There are several reasons for leaving (TMC), like lawlessness, Sandeshkhali and the tears of mothers and sisters. I could not tolerate all of this. TMC was not formed to shape Bengal this way."
Roy, while speaking to media persons, slammed the party leadership for not standing by him when his residence was raided by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in January.
Why 5-time TMC MLA Tapas Roy resigned from Mamata's party?
Tapas Roy quit his party citing disillusionment with the TMC leadership. He submitted his resignation to Assembly Speaker Biman Banerjee and stated that he had already put in his papers on March 1 for the multiple party and government positions he held.
Roy, a five-time MLA, accused the TMC and its supremo Mamata Banerjee of "deserting him during trying circumstances", expressing his frustration over the party's silence when his residence was raided by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on January 12.
The TMC, however, alleged that Roy was exerting "undue pressure for a ticket" from the North Kolkata seat for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
Roy’s resignation gave rise to fervent speculations on whether the senior leader would join the BJP, or for that matter, any other opposition party in the state. Roy, on his part, maintained that he would take that decision in “due time”.
The TMC dismissed Roy's allegations of abandonment as "baseless".
The party questioned the timing of his resignation ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, and pointed out his history of shifting party allegiance.
Roy, while speaking to media persons at his Bowbazar residence in central Kolkata, criticised the party leadership for "not standing by him" when his residence was raided by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in January.
"Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee stood in the assembly and said that the ED was targeting Shajahan Sheikh. I was expecting her to speak a word or two about the raids at my place which devastated my family. But not a word was spoken," Roy said, dripping with hurt.
With inputs from PTI
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