: Even as Trinamool Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee clearly distanced herself from party general secretary Mukul Roy; the latter put up a brave front here on Saturday, as he smilingly described his apparent fall from grace as “ part of life, part of the game”.
Mr Roy who spoke to journalists during the day at his office at Nizam Palace in the city said that his son Subhranshu Roy, who has earned the party’s ire for making comments, is entitled to his opinion.
The Trinamool Congress MP said that despite being a member of a party’s disciplinary committee, he was not taken into confidence before the party took up the matter of the remark made by his son.
While interacting with journalists, Mr Roy said that he is glad that his son made the comments.
Subhranshu Roy, who is also an MLA, had told a private television channel that along with the decrease in vote share of the party at an Assembly segment in the recently concluded by-polls, the erosion of support base in certain areas of the city near Ms Banerjee’s residence in Kolkata needs to be probed.
The TMC leadership had described the remarks as “anti-party” and said it will soon decide on the fate of the MLA.
“The party is above everyone. No one is bigger (than it),” Mr Roy said in response questions posed by journalists.
Mr Roy referred to the “joy in dealing with life’s challenges” and that” life is full of surprises”, but did not make it clear what his next plan of action is going to be.
Asked about public comments being issued by the party leaders that he has ceased to be number two in the party, Mr Roy said that he ignored these comments.
