Mukul Roy quits RS berth, mocks at Mamata: Asks her to merge Trinamool with Congress

New Delhi, Oct 11: Rebel Trinamool Congress leader Mukul Roy, who on Wednesday resigned his Rajya Sabha berth, lashed out at Mamata Banerjee for playing alleged opportunistic politics and said if at all Congress has become indispensable for her to strengthen secular forces, she should merge her party with the Congress. To a question at a crowded press conference here, he attributed that one of the reasons for his decision to part ways with Trinamool Congress - the party he co-founded with Mamata Banerjee in December 1997 - was alleged "dictatorial" style and "dynastic politics" that has cropped up in Trinamool Congress. "Dynastic politics is harming everyone at the national level...not to talk about only West Bengal," he replied to a pointed question. "Trinamool Congress was formed in 1997 to oppose Congress....Then we associated with BJP all along till 2007. Now Congress is not untouchable. So why not merge Trinamool Congress with Congress," Mr Roy told reporters here after he tendered his resignation as Member of the Rajya Sabha. Once a powerful second-in-command, Mr Roy, a longtime trusted aide of Mamata Banerjee, has fallen apart with Trinamool leadership and has been "suspended" by the party. Answering a volley of questions, he went onto describe senior Trinamool Congress leaders like Partho Chatterjee as "baccha chheley (kid)" and said, he does not consider BJP a communal party. "It is true, we are hobnobbing with RSS leaders at times...This is nothing new, I did it with the knowledge of party chief Mamata Banerjee in 2003. Ashok Singhal also met us," said Mr Roy, however making it clear that no final decision has been taken on whether he would join the BJP or float a new party. UNI