Pioneer in short
eX-Railway Minister Mukul Roy Dies
Former railway minister and senior West Bengal politician Mukul Roy passed away due to cardiac arrest early Monday at a private hospital in Salt Lake. He was 71 and is survived by his son, Subhranshu Roy. Roy had been battling multiple ailments, including dementia, and had recently slipped into a coma. A founding member of the Trinamool Congress, Roy began his political journey in the Youth Congress before joining Mamata Banerjee in 1998. He rose to become the party’s general secretary and served as its leader in the Rajya Sabha, later holding the posts of Minister of State for Shipping and Railway Minister in the UPA-2 Government. Renowned as a master strategist and backroom operator, Roy played a key role in consolidating TMC’s district-level strength and orchestrating defections from rival parties. In 2017, he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party but returned to TMC shortly after, leading to disqualification under anti-defection rules. Often called the “Chanakya of West Bengal politics,” he gradually withdrew from public life as health declined.
Four dead in AP milk tragedy
AP CM N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday announced INR 10 lakh compensation for the families of four people who died after allegedly consuming adulterated milk in East Godavari district. The State will also bear the medical expenses of 12 people hospitalised. Addressing the Assembly, Naidu said a “360-degree inquiry” was underway and warned of stringent action if adulteration was found to be intentional. “Adulteration in any form will not be spared,” he said. Two victims died on Sunday and two more on Monday after consuming milk supplied by an unauthorised vendor in Rajamahendravaram. Preliminary findings suggest the contaminated milk triggered renal failure, causing sudden urinary blockage. District Collector Kirthi Chekuri said door-to-door surveys were underway, with blood samples collected from 73 of 106 affected households.
LoPs missing in Maharashtra
The Budget Session of the Maharashtra Legislature beginning Monday will be the first without a Leader of Opposition (LoP) in either House. The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has called the vacancy a “threat to democratic norms”, arguing that the absence of LoPs weakens institutional checks as the BJP-led Mahayuti holds a commanding majority. Sanjay Raut termed the denial a “blot on democracy”. The posts have remained vacant since the 2024 Assembly elections, with no opposition party crossing the 10 per cent threshold required for LoP recognition. Bhaskar Jadhav said there was no clear statutory provision governing the appointment and noted that parties with fewer MLAs had earlier secured the post. Shiv Sena (UBT), with 20 MLAs in the 288-member
