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Tag: Tathagata Roy

  • BJP’s Tathagata Roy bids ‘farewell’ to Bengal unit for time being

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: Senior BJP leader Tathagata Roy, who has been lashing out at the party’s West Bengal leadership since the assembly poll debacle, on Saturday said he has decided to bid “farewell” to the state unit of the saffron camp for the time being, apparently indicating that he would stop criticism of its leaders.

    Roy said he would wait to see the municipal poll results in Bengal.

    According to sources close to him, the term ‘farewell’ doesn’t mean that he is leaving the party.

    Roy was trying to say that he would stop attacking the state leadership for the time being as his criticism led to an embarrassment to the party, the sources said.

    Earlier this week, the former governor of Meghalaya had said the party would become extinct if the state unit did not mend its ways.

    “I was not writing on Twitter to get applause from people. I was doing this to make the party aware of the fact that some leaders got swayed by women and wealth. Now only results will speak. I will wait for the results of the municipal polls. Farewell, for now, West Bengal BJP!” Roy said on the microblogging site on Saturday.

    State BJP leaders declined to comment on the development.

    “BJP’s well-wishers pointed out that I should make complaints about money and women within the party and not publicly. I politely tell them that the time has passed. The BJP can do whatever it wants to me. But if they do not radically reform their way of functioning, the extinction of the party in West Bengal is inevitable,” Roy tweeted earlier this week.

    Roy had asserted that he would continue to play the role of his party’s “conscience-keeper” after BJP national vice-president Dilip Ghosh told him that he was free to leave the camp if he was “upset and ashamed” over its style of functioning.

    Roy had recently been critical of the decisions taken by BJP’s West Bengal minder Kailash Vijayvargiya, Ghosh, and senior leaders Arvind Menon and Shiv Prakash, ahead of March-April assembly polls, and blamed them in a series of tweets for the saffron camp’s poor show in the last assembly elections.

    The BJP won only 77 seats of the 294-member West Bengal assembly in the last elections.

  • No plan to leave BJP, will play role of conscience-keeper: Tathagata Roy

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: BJP leader Tathagata Roy on Sunday asserted that he will continue to play the role of his party’s “conscience-keeper”, a day after the saffron camp national vice-president, Dilip Ghosh, told him that he was free to leave the camp if he was “upset and ashamed” over its style of functioning.

    Roy clarified that he has no plan of quitting the organisation.

    He took to Twitter on Sunday and said, “I am being deluged with phone calls since yesterday. Let me assure you that I am not voluntarily leaving the party.”

    The former Meghalaya governor had recently been critical of the decisions taken by BJP’s ex-West Bengal minder Kailash Vijayvargiya, Ghosh, and senior leaders Arvind Menon and Shiv Prakash, ahead of March-April assembly polls, and blamed them in a series of tweets for the saffron camp’s poor show in the state.

    Earlier, too, he had flayed the senior leaders for “indiscriminate” induction of TMC leaders into the party without taking their experience and chance of winning into account.

    Ghosh, who was the state president of the BJP during assembly polls, took exception to his tweets and told reporters on Saturday “If you are so upset and ashamed of all that is happening within the party, why don’t you just leave?” Maintaining that he will remain an ordinary member of the BJP, Roy, in response to Ghosh’s barbs, said that had he left the party, he would have unravelled many secrets, but that wasn’t happening now.

    “I am an ordinary member of the BJP. I will perform the role of conscience-keeper of the party, like the conscience-keeper in ‘Jatra’ (stage play). Had I left the party, I would have unravelled many secrets. But that is not happening now,” the former governor stated.

    The incumbent state president of the Bengal BJP unit, Sukanta Majumdar, had refused to be a part of the controversy on Saturday, insisting that it was the “prerogative of the central leadership” to take a call on the comments made by Roy.

  • Trouble in Bengal BJP? Amid Dilip Ghosh vs Tathagata Roy, another leader quits party

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: BJP national vice-president Dilip Ghosh on Saturday hit out at veteran colleague and former Meghalaya governor Tathagata Roy over his recent criticism of the organisation’s style of functioning, and sought to know why he wasn’t leaving the party if he was so upset.

    Roy had been critical of the decisions taken by former West Bengal minder Kailash Vijayvargiya, Ghosh, who was earlier the party’s state president, and senior leaders Arvind Menon and Shiv Prakash, blaming them in a series of tweets for the saffron camp’s poor show in the March-April assembly polls.

    He also claimed that there was “no chance” of Vijayvargiya returning to the state to oversee the operations of the Bengal BJP unit.

    Asked to comment on Roy’s frequent jibe at him, Menon and Vijayvargiya, the former BJP state president told reporters, without taking any name, “If you are so upset and ashamed of all that is happening within the party, why don’t you just leave?” The Midnapore MP, who was on his way to Delhi to attend the BJP central working committee meeting, further stated, “You (Tathagata) did nothing for the party in the recent times. But the party did everything for people like you.”

    Roy, when contacted, maintained that he would not want to attach much importance to what Ghosh said.

    BJP state president Sukanta Majumder, however, steered clear of the controversy andunderlined that it was the “prerogative of the central leadership” to take a call on the comment made by Tathagata Roy.

    Roy had told reporters last month that he was “ashamed of some top-level leaders like Vijayvargiya as, ahead of the Bengal assembly polls, they were swayed by the glamour factor while inducting people into the BJP and did not take experience and chances of winning into consideration”.

    Actor-turned-BJP leader Joy Banerjee on Saturday said he has decided to resign from the primary membership of the party, after having “faced neglect” in the recent years.

    Banerjee, who joined the BJP in 2014 and unsuccessfully contested Lok Sabha elections twice, also said that he has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, informing him about his decision to sever all association with the saffron party.

    “I want to work for common people and that isn’t quite possible if I continue to be a part of the BJP,” he told reporters.

    Mentioning that he has been removed from BJP National Executive, Banerjee further said, “My security has also been taken away by the central leadership. I am not a new member; I had joined the party way back in 2014.”

    “I had told Narendra Modi in 2017 that I would want to do more for the organisation. But there was no response. I won’t tolerate more neglect,” he added.

    To a question if he had any plan to join the Trinamool Congress, Banerjee said he hasn’t taken any such decision as yet.

    “All I know is that I would want to work for people,” he iterated.

  • Troubel in Bengal BJP? Amid Dilip Ghosh vs Tathagata Roy, another leader quits party

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: BJP national vice-president Dilip Ghosh on Saturday hit out at veteran colleague and former Meghalaya governor Tathagata Roy over his recent criticism of the organisation’s style of functioning, and sought to know why he wasn’t leaving the party if he was so upset.

    Roy had been critical of the decisions taken by former West Bengal minder Kailash Vijayvargiya, Ghosh, who was earlier the party’s state president, and senior leaders Arvind Menon and Shiv Prakash, blaming them in a series of tweets for the saffron camp’s poor show in the March-April assembly polls.

    He also claimed that there was “no chance” of Vijayvargiya returning to the state to oversee the operations of the Bengal BJP unit.

    Asked to comment on Roy’s frequent jibe at him, Menon and Vijayvargiya, the former BJP state president told reporters, without taking any name, “If you are so upset and ashamed of all that is happening within the party, why don’t you just leave?” The Midnapore MP, who was on his way to Delhi to attend the BJP central working committee meeting, further stated, “You (Tathagata) did nothing for the party in the recent times. But the party did everything for people like you.”

    Roy, when contacted, maintained that he would not want to attach much importance to what Ghosh said.

    BJP state president Sukanta Majumder, however, steered clear of the controversy andunderlined that it was the “prerogative of the central leadership” to take a call on the comment made by Tathagata Roy.

    Roy had told reporters last month that he was “ashamed of some top-level leaders like Vijayvargiya as, ahead of the Bengal assembly polls, they were swayed by the glamour factor while inducting people into the BJP and did not take experience and chances of winning into consideration”.

    Actor-turned-BJP leader Joy Banerjee on Saturday said he has decided to resign from the primary membership of the party, after having “faced neglect” in the recent years.

    Banerjee, who joined the BJP in 2014 and unsuccessfully contested Lok Sabha elections twice, also said that he has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, informing him about his decision to sever all association with the saffron party.

    “I want to work for common people and that isn’t quite possible if I continue to be a part of the BJP,” he told reporters.

    Mentioning that he has been removed from BJP National Executive, Banerjee further said, “My security has also been taken away by the central leadership. I am not a new member; I had joined the party way back in 2014.”

    “I had told Narendra Modi in 2017 that I would want to do more for the organisation. But there was no response. I won’t tolerate more neglect,” he added.

    To a question if he had any plan to join the Trinamool Congress, Banerjee said he hasn’t taken any such decision as yet.

    “All I know is that I would want to work for people,” he iterated.

  • BJP opposes use of shoes to ‘decorate’ Durga puja pandal, seeks Mamata government’s intervention

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: The BJP on Saturday objected to the use of shoes for “decorating” a Durga puja pandal here, alleging that it would hurt religious sentiments of people.

    Organisers of the puja pandal in Dumdum, however, rejected the assertion and said that the shoe installation on the sidewalk leading to the marquee depicts farmers’ movement in the country, and the Durga idol, set up at a considerable distance from it, is surrounded by paddy stacks.

    Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari said in a tweet on Saturday that the organisers have committed a “heinous act” by adorning the pandal wall with shoes, and urged the chief secretary and home secretary to look into the matter.

    “A Durga Puja pandal in Dumdum Park has been decorated with shoes. This heinous act of insulting Maa Durga in the name of ‘Artistic liberty’ won’t be tolerated. I urge the Chief & Home Secretary @egiye_bangla to intervene and compel the organizers to remove the shoes before Shashti,” he added.

    Echoing him, former Meghalaya governor and veteran BJP leader Tathagata Roy told reporters that “everything cannot be tolerated in the name of artistic freedom. This is a grave insult to goddess Durga and hurts our religious sentiment”.

    An office-bearer of Dumdum Park Bharat Chakra puja committee, on his part, clarified that the shoe installation was at a distance from the pandal.

    “Our theme, this year, is farmers’ agitation. As part of the theme, the path leading to the pandal has shoe installations to symbolise a scene after a police lathicharge on agitating farmers, which forced them to run helter skelter. Such scenes were witnessed recently.”

    “Inside the marquee, Devi Durga and her progeny are surrounded by paddy stacks,” he added.

  • Trinamool turncoats welcomed into BJP by neglecting old-timers will quit one by one: Tathagata Roy

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: Continuing his tirade against a section of the party leadership, senior BJP leader Tathagata Roy on Monday said those TMC turncoats who were welcomed into the saffron party by neglecting old-timers have shown their “true colours” and will return to their old party one by one.

    TMC turncoats Sonali Guha, Sarala Murmu and Amal Acharya, who had joined the BJP before the West Bengal assembly elections, have expressed their desire to return to the ruling party in the state and said they regretted their decision to join the BJP.

    “My words have proved to be true. Those who were welcomed into the BJP with open arms, those new entrants who were granted such rousing reception while old-timers of 20-30 years were given short shrift and subjected to total neglect, are now set to return to the TMC one by one,” Roy, known for his controversial statements, said.

    After the BJP’s poor performance in the assembly elections, in which it bagged only 77 seats while the TMC won 213 constituencies, the former governor of Tripura and Meghalaya said that “unwanted elements” from the ruling party in West Bengal had joined the saffron camp ahead of the polls.

    On the TMC turncoats’ wish to return to their old party, senior leader and MP Sougata Roy said that in his opinion, these turncoats should not be inducted into the Trinamool Congress within the next six months.

    “Chief Minister and party chief Mamata Banerjee will take the final decision in this regard. But, in my view, they should not be inducted into the party within six months’ time.”

    “Our grassroots level activists had worked so hard during poll campaigning against the BJP’s sustained adverse campaign and money power. We may look into their sentiments,” Roy said.

    TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said the party is preoccupied with the fight against COVID-19 and does not have time for other issues.

  • After Tathagata Roy lashing out at BJP over Bengal defeat, party veteran summoned to Delhi

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: BJP leader Tathagata Roy on Thursday said his party’s top brass has called him to Delhi at the earliest, a day after he criticised some of the measures taken by the saffron camp’s decision-makers ahead of the assembly elections.

    The BJP pocketed just 77 seats in the just-concluded Bengal polls, with the TMC having bagged 213 constituencies.

    The saffron party had set a target of winning over 200 seats.

    Taking to Twitter, the former governor of two northeastern states — Tripura and Meghalaya — said, “I have been asked by the party’s topmost leadership to come to Delhi ASAP. This is for general information.”

    Roy, during his interaction with reporters on Wednesday, had claimed that “unwanted elements” from the TMC was inducted into the BJP ahead of the assembly polls, and leaders having no idea or understanding of Bengali culture and heritage were made to helm the election campaign in the state.

    On the migroblogging site, he also wrote, “In the depths of my frustration I think of my icons Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee and Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay. How they had suffered and compared to that what is my suffering! Such thoughts, such suffering will not go in vain. Never!”

    In a no-holds-barred diatribe aimed at state BJP minders and the Bengal unit chief, he further tweeted, “Kailash-Dilip-Shiv-Arvind (KDSA) foursome have dragged the names of our respected Prime Minister and Home Minister through mud and have sullied the name of the biggest political party in the world. Sitting atop Agarwal Bhavan of Hastings (W Bengal BJP’s election headquarters).”

    On Tuesday, Roy, known for his controversial remarks and tweets, had said that three new female entrants in the BJP from the tinsel town, who got defeated by big margins, are “politically stupid”, raising several eyebrows.

    “What great qualities were these women possessed of? Kailash Vijayvargiya, Dilip Ghosh & Co must answer (sic),” he had tweeted.

    Reacting strongly to Roy’s jibe at his industry colleagues, Kanchan Mallick, an actor who fought on a TMC ticket and won the Uttarpara seat, “It is insulting for them even though they belong to my rival party,” he said.

  • West Bengal polls: BJP worker’s mother killed by TMC goons in Goghat, alleges Tathagata Roy

    By ANI
    KOLKATA: Former Governor of Tripura and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Tathagata Roy on Tuesday claimed that a BJP worker’s mother was killed allegedly by “TMC goons” in Goghat in Hooghly district of the poll-bound West Bengal.

    “In Goghat in Hooghly district of West Bengal, Piru Adak, a BJP worker was attacked by Trinamool goons. When his mother Madhavi tried to save him the goons attacked and killed her,” tweeted Roy. The polling for the Goghat constituency is being held on Tuesday in the third phase of the West Bengal assembly polls.

    In Goghat,Distt Hooghly,West Bengal Piru Adak,a BJP worker was attacked by Trinamool goons. When his mother Madhavi tried to save him the goons attacked and killed her.
    — Tathagata Roy (@tathagata2) April 6, 2021

    A total of 31 Assembly constituencies in districts including eight in Hooghly, seven in Howrah and 16 in South 24 Parganas are going to polls in phase-III. There are 205 candidates in the fray in this round of polling. However, when it comes to women representation, there are only 13 women candidates contesting in this phase, merely six per cent.

    Meanwhile, polling has now begun at booth number 129 of AC 200 in Arambag, Hooghly on Tuesday. Voters are been standing in the queue while maintaining the COVID protocols.

    Polling for the first two phases of the West Bengal elections were held on March 27 and April 1 respectively. The fourth phase of polling will take place on April 10. The counting of votes will take place on May 2.

  • BJP leader Tathagata Roy files complaint against actor for ‘hurting sentiments’ through meme

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: Senior BJP leader and former Meghalaya Governor Tathagata Roy has filed a police complaint against Bengali actress Saayoni Ghosh for a meme shared on Twitter, alleging that it hurt the sentiments of Hindus.

    Ghosh, however, claimed the meme dates back to February 2015, and was not posted by her, but an act of mischief by someone who hacked her account then.

    “You have thus committed an offence under Section 295A IPC. Now, be prepared for the consequences,” Roy said on Twitter.

    “@sayani06, you have already been reported to Kolkata Police. The complaint is attached. Meanwhile, a person from Guwahati has told me that his religious feelings have been hurt by your meme and he is filing a complaint. I hope Assam Police will take cognizance and ask for remand,” he added.

    The veteran BJP leader also said another person from Bengaluru has complained to the police about the matter.

    The young actress, in her reply tweeted: “Dear all, a post from 2015 has been brought to my notice which is extremely obnoxious. for all your information, I have joined Twitter in 2010 and after a brief use I lost interest in carrying forward. However, the account remained.”

    Ghosh said she later discovered that her account had been hacked and she needed to retrieve it immediately.

    “For various reasons, we could only do that after 2017 and I got back in touch with the Twitter world with a bang. We have skipped a few unnecessary posts while deleting most,” she said.

    Roy had also taken exception to a recent comment by Ghosh over the chant of ‘Jai Sri Ram’ by motor cycle-borne youths.