Mukul Roy resigns as PAC chairman from West Bengal Assembly

Kolkata: Amidst a tussle between BJP and Assembly Speaker, BJP MLA Mukul Roy who had rejoined TMC last year resigned from Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman’s post on Monday.

According to Assembly sources, citing ‘ill health’, Roy has sent his resignation through an email to the Speaker Biman Bandhopadhyay.

“I humbly request you to accept my resignation from the post of chairman and as a member of PAC, West Bengal, as I am unable to discharge my duties owing to ill health,” said the sources quoting the Email.

It can be noted that after winning the MLA seat from Krishnanagar (North), Roy defected back to TMC in June last year. Soon after that the BJP MLAs wanted disqualification of Roy's MLA post.

Amidst the tussle over the disqualification of Roy's MLA post, the Speaker had appointed Roy as PAC chairman in July last year, while the opposition BJP wanted its MLA Ashok Lahiri to head the committee.

Soon after this development, Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari had urged the Speaker over disqualification of the PAC post and later moved the Calcutta High Court after the Speaker constantly claimed that Roy was in BJP and then defect to TMC.

MoS Tapas Roy who used to table the PAC meeting as Roy remained absent from the meeting said that it was Roy’s ‘personal decision’ to resign from the post.

However, according to TMC sources, top leaders from party had asked Roy to resign from the post as he remains ‘absent’ from the meeting.

BJP spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said he should have resigned ‘long back’ and also that Roy’s appointment as PAC chairman was ‘unethical’ and ‘unconstitutional’.

The Left Front and Congress slammed Roy by stating that no one knows which party Roy actually is.

Published on: Monday, June 27, 2022, 10:30 PM IST