BJP to move Calcutta HC for disqualification of TMC's Mukul Roy as MLA in WB assembly

In a massive setback to Trinamool Congress leader Mukul Roy, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday announced that it will be moving the Calcutta High Court seeking his disqualification as a Member of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly under the anti-defection law. Speaking to the media, the Leader of Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari added that the BJP would catalyze the disqualification proceedings presently going on before Speaker of the House Biman Banerjee at the earliest. 

"The Speaker had called me as a petitioner against Mukul Roy to enforce the anti-defection law," the BJP leader informed, the next hearing is scheduled to take place on July 30. 

The development comes a couple of days after eight legislators of the BJP resigned as heads of various assembly panels in West Bengal to protest MLA Mukul Roy’s appointment as the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee. Suvendu Adhikari back then had objected to Roy’s elevation, citing that he recently crossed over to the ruling Trinamool Congress after winning the polls on a BJP ticket, and cannot be considered a BJP legislator. Thereafter, Suvendu Adhikari-led BJP delegation also called on Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar to seek his intervention in the matter. 

“This (making Roy the PAC chairman) is a violation of rule 302 of the rules of procedure and conduct of business in the West Bengal Assembly. We have sought the intervention of the Governor in this regard,” said Adhikari.

What is Rule 302?

BJP in its letter to the secretary mentioned rule 302 stating, "The committee shall consist of twenty members. They shall be elected by the house from amongst its members according to the principle of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote in accordance with the directions framed on this behalf by the speaker. The term of the office of a member of the committee shall be one year, but any member shall be eligible for re-election."

Moreover, BJP also pointed out that Arun Kumar Maity, an elected member of TMC, and Ruden Pratap Lepcha, an independent member-supported by TMC, have been mentioned as proposers of Mukul Roy, indicating that it should have been the BJP which should be the proposer since he contested on BJP's ticket.

BJP National Vice President Mukul Roy and his son Subhranshu Roy joined TMC in the presence of West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata last month. BJP's inability to make sufficient inroads in West Bengal is reportedly the reason behind the father-son duo making a u-turn to the TMC.