Mukul Roy resigns as TMC MP: BJP Bengal unit divided over inducting former Union minister

Kolkata: The BJP’s West Bengal unit appears divided on the issue of inducting former TMC MP Mukul Roy into the party, with some lauding his organisational skills and others expressing concern over the corruption charges that he faces. [caption id=“attachment_2815966” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of former Trinamool Congress MP Mukul Roy. PTI[/caption] Roy on Wednesday resigned from the Rajya Sabha and quit the Trinamool Congress (TMC), which had last month suspended him for six years for “anti-party activities”. State BJP president Dilip Ghosh lauded Roy as a “good organiser” and said he had made a “big contribution” to the growth of the TMC in Bengal. “Nothing has been decided as of now as we are yet to take a call on this. But his departure from the TMC is good news for all of us who are fighting against the misrule of the TMC,” he said. Ghosh said there was no denying that the TMC had expanded because of Roy’s organisational skills. There were some misgivings in the party about Roy’s possible induction. “Inducting Mukul Roy will do harm to the image of the party. He has several corruption cases against him and inducting him would mean we are also a part of that baggage,” a senior state BJP leader said on condition of anonymity. If one had the support of the state administration, “anybody could become a good organiser”, he told PTI. Asked how the BJP could embrace Roy, against whom it had run a political campaign over the last few years, another party leader, who also did not wish to be named, said he had not been proven guilty yet. “Only allegations have been raised,” he said. The leader said the BJP was yet to take a decision on the induction. “The West Bengal unit of our party will first discuss and decide. After that, the central leadership will take a call. But if he (Roy) is found guilty in the Narada and Saradha cases, we will not induct him into the party,” the BJP leader said. The BJP was “like the river Ganga, where various small rivers meet”, he said. Roy, who is currently in Delhi, had earlier this week met BJP leader in charge of West Bengal, Kailash Vijayvargiya, who had said the saffron party was not in a hurry to induct him.