Former Union railway minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Mukul Roy passed away at a private hospital in Kolkata on Monday morning. He was 71.
Roy had been in a coma for several days and succumbed to a cardiac arrest at 1:30 am, according to his son, Subhranshu Roy.
A founding member of the TMC when it was established in 1998, Roy later parted ways with party supremo Mamata Banerjee and joined the BJP in 2017. He won the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections on a BJP ticket from the Krishnanagar Uttar constituency, only to return to the TMC after the polls.
Roy served as the Union railway minister during the UPA-2 government in 2011, when the TMC was part of the ruling alliance. He was also a two-time Rajya Sabha member.
BJP leader Dilip Ghosh remembered Roy as an experienced politician who was highly regarded during his time in the saffron party.
"He was an experienced politician and even became a Union Minister. When he joined the BJP, he was given much respect. He was with us from 2019 to 2021, after which he returned to the TMC. For the past few years, he had been unwell and unable to actively participate in politics. I pray for his soul to rest in peace," Ghosh told ANI.
BJP leader and Leader of the Opposition in West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, expressed his condolences on social media: "Deeply disheartened to learn about the sad demise of Senior Politician Shri Mukul Roy. My sincere condolences to his family. Praying that his soul attains eternal peace. Om Shanti," he wrote on X.
