West Bengal News: West Bengal Assembly Speaker hears Mukul Roy’s defection case

West Bengal Assembly Speaker Biman Banerjee on Thursday heard the defection case of Trinamool Congress leader Mukul Roy, who broke away from the Bharatiya Janata Party and rejoined the Trinamool after the 2021 assembly election results.

Roy is a former National Vice President of BJP and was elected MLA from Krishnanagar (North) constituency. Roy had joined the Trinamool after the 2021 assembly elections in the presence of Trinamool supremo Mamata Banerjee. The Speaker had chosen Rai as the head of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) despite the defection, following which the opposition BJP filed a case which is still being heard by the Speaker. Leader of Opposition (LoP) Suvendu Adhikari had also moved the Calcutta High Court after Speaker Biman Banerjee had observed that Mukul Roy would continue as PAC president.

“We have presented our views on behalf of Mukul Roy to the Speaker today. Roy, a BJP MLA, had gone to the Trinamool office to meet his loved ones when his wife was admitted to the hospital. Mukul Roy’s lawyer said after the hearing that he was in poor health and was depressed due to his family reasons.

The authorities moved the Calcutta High Court over the issue of the PAC’s presidency and the implementation of the anti-defection law against Roy.

Earlier, the Supreme Court had refused to hear a petition filed by the officer against the Speaker’s order dismissing his plea seeking disqualification of Roy as an MLA. A bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao and BR Gavai asked the officer to move the Calcutta High Court against the Speaker’s decision.

Originally published at Pen 18