"He is not in right state of mind": MLA Agnimitra Paul dismisses Mukul Roy's overtures to BJP

Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], April 20 : Day after veteran Trinamool Congress leader and one of the party's founding members, Mukul Roy, claimed he was no longer with the ruling party in West Bengal and was willing to take up any task assigned by the BJP, saffron party leader Agnimitra Paul took a swipe at him claiming that he was not in the "right frame of mind".

Speaking to , the BJP MLA said, "We know that Mamata Banerjee is a pathological liar and since Mukul Roy was her right-hand man, one can also assume him to be cut from the same cloth as his leader. After the BJP lost the last Assembly elections in West Bengal, we all saw how Mukul Roy visited the Trinamool Bhavan (TMC headquarters in Kolkata) and formally rejoined the party in the presence of (CM Mamata Banerjee's nephew) Abhishek Banerjee. The same Mukul Roy is now in Delhi saying he was always with the BJP. He should get a check-up done."

"His son (TCM MLA Subhranghsu Roy) has said he is mentally unstable. What are we to make of that? I don't think he is in the right state of mind and he should take care of his health," the BJP MLA added.

Mukul Roy, who was one of the key strategists of the BJP for the 2021 West Bengal Assembly polls, moved back to his parent outfit after the saffron party fared poorly in the elections.

Speaking to reporters in the national capital, he said he was ready to take up any responsibility, should the BJP entrust him with one.

He said there was no question of resigning from TMC as he was "not even a part of it".

"Previously I was with the BJP and I wish to be with the party again. If the BJP entrusts me with a responsibility, I will duly take care of it," he said.

A founding member of Trinamool Congress, Mukul Roy joined the BJP in 2017.

Responding to Mukul Roy's statement, TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said people are aware how he changes his stripes.

"His son said he had brain surgery a few days ago. He seems to have made another opportunistic move. He is not relevant to the TMC," Ghosh said.

A missing complaint regarding Mukul Roy was lodged by his son at Kolkata's NSCBI airport police station on Monday night after he left allegedly left home without any word on where he was headed.

Even as Roy made clear overtures towards the BJP, the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, ruled out taking him back into the party.

Roy had been elected BJP MLA from the Krishnanagar North Assembly constituency of West Bengal.

After he ditched the party to return to the TMC, the BJP sought cancellation of Roy's nomination for the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee of the Bengal Assembly.