Bengal: Veteran TMC leader Tapas Roy set to quit party, says 'hurt' by Mamata's silence on ED raids
Kolkata/IBNS: In a jolt to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Tapas Roy is on Monday set to quit his party as well as the MLA post ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
Roy announced his decision to quit his party holding a press conference at his place.
The senior politician said he was hurt that his party chief Mamata Banerjee did not back him when the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided his place in connection with the civic body recruitment case on January 12.
"I am hurt. Mamata Banerjee could say Sheikh Shahjahan was targeted by ED but couldn't take my name in the assembly," said Roy, who has recently lashed out at TMC Lok Sabha leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay accusing him of colluding with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Though TMC sent minister Bratya Basu and party leader Kunal Ghosh to Roy's residence in the morning to change his mind, the rebel leader remained firm in his decision.
Roy's possible resignation has triggered speculations over his joining in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which looks spirited in the backdrop of the Sandeshkhali incident that has apparently hurt TMC politically.