In a dramatic late evening development that could hasten the split in the Trinamool Congress, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday removed party general secretary Mukul Roy as the Trinamool Parliamentary Committee chairman and appointed Rajya Sabha member Derek O’ Brien in his place, party sources said.
Though no apparent reason behind her action was given by Banerjee, insiders said Roy’s alleged revealing the name of another party MP and Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee to the CBI in connectioin with the Saradha chit fund case acted as the trigger. O’Brien would now be assisted by junior Banerjee in coordinating the affairs of the party, sources said. The decision came close on the heels of Roy meeting another rebel MP Subhendu Adhikary of Tamluk at his Nizam Palace office.
Adhikary, a powerful leader and Banerjee’s erstwhile Nan-digram spearhead, met Roy for about an hour giving rise to speculations of an imminent split. Banerjee also acted hours after news became public that Roy had reportedly agreed to act as an approver in the chit fund case helping the CBI to go beyond him and arrest bigger leaders. BJP State president Rahul Sinha said that Roy was going to “turn approver in the Saradha case.”