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PM Modi speaks to Mukul Roy, day after Abhishek Banerjee's 10-min courtesy call
Mukul Roy has so far not said anything about his next move, Abhishek Banerjee's visit to the Kolkata hospital where the former's wife is undergoing treatment, sparked buzz that Roy might eventually return to the party he left in 2017.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday spoke on phone to Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) national vice president Mukul Roy, whose wife has been admitted to a hospital in Kolkata. Roy's wife Krishna is undergoing treatment for Covid-19 at the hospital.
"The Prime Minister spoke to my father over the phone at 10.30am and enquired about my mother's health," Roy's son Subhrangshu was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
The Prime Minister's call came a day after West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s nephew and Trinamool Congress (TMC) youth unit president Abhishek Banerjee visited the hospital. He spent 10 minutes there - a visit which sparked speculations that Roy might eventually return to the party he left in 2017.
Roy's son Subhrangshu was present at the hospital when Banerjee visited.
A former TMC MLA who joined the BJP following his father's footsteps, Subhrangshu recently said in a social media post that one should do self-introspection before criticising the government, which has come to power with people's support.
The post was believed to be directed at the state BJP leadership. However, West Bengal BJP Dilip Ghosh said it's Subhrangshu's personal opinion. “Someone can express a personal opinion. BJP’s policies are not decided by Facebook posts,” said Ghosh.
Trinamool Congress leaders said Subhrangshu had said the right thing.
While Mukul Roy won the Krishnanagar North seat in Nadia district in the recent assembly polls, his son was defeated from the Bijpur seat that he held in North 24 Parganas district.
An accused in the Narada sting operation case being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Mukul Roy resigned from the TMC in September 2017. He was suspended for six years for anti-party activities. He also resigned from the Rajya Sabha in October, 2017. He joined the BJP in November that year. In September 2020, Roy was made national vice-president of the BJP. Subhranshu Roy joined the BJP in May 2019.
