Trinamool leader Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, who was the editor of the party mouthpiece Jago Bangla till Tuesday morning, was removed from the post in its evening edition.

The move is being viewed in Trinamool circles as the price the three-term Rajya Sabha member paid for his stand on the RG Kar tragedy, in dissonance with that of the party.

Ray, 75, whose name appeared in the morning edition as editor, was replaced in the evening edition by agriculture minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, 80.

Although Ray said it was he who offered to step down in June — over personal reasons — several party seniors said the move came in the wake of his “rebellious” stand following the grisly RG Kar rape and murder.

“Nothing significant.... I was asked to take charge as a stopgap measure. I remained editor for two long years. I had requested the leadership to remove me from the post, because I had nothing to contribute there. The Jago Bangla team is a very cohesive team of journalists, they are doing very well,” Ray told The Telegraph.

Ray had ascended to the post after then Trinamool secretary-general and Bengal education minister Partha Chatterjee’s arrest in July 2022, over his alleged involvement in “irregularities” in school recruitments.

“I felt I was unnecessarily holding the post, which some other aspirant could occupy. It is a very big party, maybe some other leaders have some aspirations…. I am stepping down on personal grounds,” he added.

Asked if this was a penal measure on account of his mutinous stand in the wake of the RG Kar tragedy, he said: “No no, no no. It is a personal, internal matter.”

“If I am saying I stepped down on personal grounds, the buck should stop there,” he added.

A party source said: “He was removed over his insubordination in the wake of RG Kar. Because he kept rubbing Mamata Banerjee the wrong way, aiding the Opposition.”

Ray supported the Reclaim the Night movement — perceived to be against Mamata — on social media.