What West Bengal has lacked under the reign of Mamata Banerjee is a solid opposition that keeps the ruling regime on its toes. With the BJP winning 77 seats in the state – Mamata Banerjee will be facing opposition throughout her tenure, and things will not be as rosy as they have been for her since 2011. Perhaps, Mukul Roy, prior to jumping ship to the TMC did not calculate the ramifications of his move. Now the full force of Bengal BJP is coming down on him, and the saffron party is seeking disqualification of Roy from his MLA post under the anti-defection law.
Suvendu Adhikari – the leader of opposition in West Bengal’s assembly had previously given Mukul Roy 48 hours to resign as an MLA of the Krishnanagar Uttar assembly constituency. In response, Roy said that he would not step down from the post of MLA. Now, Suvendu Adhikari and the Bengal BJP are going all out in their effort to have Mukul Roy disqualified as an MLA – since he jumped ship as a legislator from the BJP to the TMC.
The anti-defection law applies to him, and the BJP’s Bengal state unit has the backing of the Governor on that count. “Being the Constitutional head of the state, let me make it clear that anti-defection law is applicable in full force in Bengal. It is as much applicable here as in other parts of the country,” Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar had said in response to the letter submitted to him by BJP MLAs.
This was after Suvendu Adhikari had told the Governor that “Todna-Jodna is part of TMC’s dirty politics. They have been doing this for the past 10 years and nobody opposed it. But it is being opposed now and action will be taken under the anti-defection law.” In the latest news, Suvendu Adhikari has sent a petition to the Speaker seeking disqualification of Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Mukul Roy as the MLA from Krishnanagar Uttar constituency.
The Bengal BJP camp had been preparing since Thursday to send the petition seeking Mukul Roy’s disqualification as the Krishnanagar Uttar MLA and had consulted its lawyers for the purpose. Manoj Tigga, BJP’s chief whip in the assembly, submitted the petition to Biman Banerjee on Friday.
According to Times Now, it is learnt that the BJP is also willing to go to court against Mukul Roy. The freshly inducted TMC leader is now on a sticky wicket, and his case is weak at best. If the Speaker succumbs to TMC pressure and does not disqualify Mukul Roy, the BJP seems prepared to wage a legal battle against Roy and the TMC.
Interestingly, Suvendu Adhikari is leading the fight against Mukul Roy – a clear statement by the BJP that the former Mamata right-hand man is now the saffron party’s face in West Bengal.