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regular-article-logo Friday, 22 November 2024

MP Satabdi Roy voices discontent against TMC on social media

Party reaches out to answer grievances amid speculation of the actress-turned-politician joining saffron party

Our Bureau, Agencies Calcutta Published 15.01.21, 06:57 PM
Satabdi Roy

Satabdi Roy File picture

Birbhum MP Satabdi Roy voiced her discontent with the TMC, following which the party reached out to her to bring the situation under control amid an ongoing exodus from the party ahead of the assembly elections in Bengal.

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TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh held an hour-long meeting with the actor-turned-politician at her south Calcutta residence on Friday afternoon after she dropped hints of quitting the ruling party in the state.

"Satabdi Roy is an old friend. I had come to meet my friend," Ghosh told reporters while leaving her residence, adding several other TMC leaders have spoken with her.

"I have also come to know that BJP leader Mukul Roy had called her up and asked her to meet him during her visit to Delhi tomorrow," he said.

Senior TMC leader and Dumdum MP Saugata Roy said the party will try to address her grievances and sort out the issues.

Roy, in a Facebook post, had claimed that she is not being informed about party events in her constituency and this has caused "mental pain" to her.

The three-time Birbhum MP had said she will inform the public at 2 pm on Saturday if she takes any "decision", causing ripples in the TMC.

As per party sources, Roy is having differences with Birbhum district TMC chief Anubrata Mondal.

"I have a close connection with this constituency. But recently many people have been asking me why I am missing from several party programmes.

"I want to tell them that I want to attend all programmes. But I don't get to know about many programmes and if I am not even informed about events in my constituency, then how can I attend. I was mentally pained because of this," Roy's post in her fans' club page read.

Roy said she has spent more time with the people of her constituency than her own family in the last 10 years and even her enemies can't discredit her on this account.

"So, this year I am trying to take some decisions so that I can spend the entire time with you. I am grateful to you. You have been supporting me since 2009. Hope you will support me in the coming days too," the post read.

"If I take any decision, will let you know on January 16, Saturday at 2 pm," it added.

When contacted, Roy confirmed that the post was indeed made by her.

"I have tried to reach out to the leadership but it has been of no use. If I am not able to work for the masses then what is the use of continuing in the post," she told reporters.

Roy had twice given resignation from the Tarapith Unnayan Parishad but those were not accepted, sources close to the MP said.

She is scheduled to visit Delhi on Saturday, they said.

When asked whether there are chances of joining the BJP, she refused to reply.

Responding to a query whether she will meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Roy said, "There are always chances of meeting people you know but there is no such possibility."

Reacting to the development, Mondal said, "She is still in the party. If she takes any step, then I will say whatever I have to."

Roy was seen with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during a roadshow in Bolpur on December 29.

After a long and successful career in the Bengali film industry, Roy joined politics in the final years of the Left Front government in the state.

She was part of the TMC's cultural brigade of celebrities with mass appeal in Mamata Banerjee's attempt to unseat the Left from power in the state.

Roy had first contested and won the Birbhum seat on a TMC ticket in 2009. She went on to win the seat in 2014 and 2019.

Not just Roy, another senior TMC leader and state minister Rajib Banerjee, who has been maintaining distance with the party, also said in a social media post that he will reveal his next step in a Facebook live on Saturday afternoon.

In the biggest single-day exodus from the TMC, political heavyweight Suvendu Adhikari, along with 35 party leaders including five MLAs and an MP, joined the BJP during Shah's rally in Medinipur on December 19, setting off a churning as several disgruntled leaders rallied behind him.

Since the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, when the BJP bagged 18 seats from the state, 14 legislators of the TMC, four from the Left Front and two from the Congress have joined the saffron party.

None of them, however, have resigned from their posts.

Elections to the 294-member state assembly are due in April-May.

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