Senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Mukul Roy, once the right hand man of West Bnegal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, on Monday announced his decision to quit the party.
Addressing a press conference in Kolkata, Roy said he would resign as the TMC's primary member and also his Rajya Sabha seat after the conclusion of Durga Puja on September 30.
"With a heavy heart and pain, I am informing you that I have taken a principled decision. I am not an office-bearer in the party now.
"I'm a party working committee member and a Rajya Sabha member elected on the party symbol. I will mail my resignation from the party working committee today (Monday) itself.
"I'll quit as Rajya Sabha member after the Durga Puja break. I will also quit my primary membership of the Trinamool after a few days," Roy said.
Refusing to divulge more details, Roy said he would explain the reasons behind his decision later.
"Today is panchami. People of Bengal and in the rest of India are in a festive mood. People will not accept it if I say these things now," the former railway minister said.
Roy, one of the founding members of the TMC, also recalled that he was the first signatory for the party on December 17, 1997, during the process of its formation.
The Trinamool officially came into being on Janauary 1, 1998.
Speculation about Roy — who has been completely sidelined in the party for months — quitting the Trinamool was rife for weeks, as he gradually distanced himself from it, and was said to be scouting for a new political innings with some other party, particularly the Bharatiya Janata Party.
