I want to be with BJP, like to meet Amit Shah: Mukul Roy
Kolkata (PTI): Veteran TMC leader Mukul Roy, who kept the political pundits guessing over his next move, on Tuesday night said he is still a BJP legislator and would like to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah as he is keen on returning to the saffron camp.
Roy, who on Monday night travelled to New Delhi for "some personal work", even as his family initially claimed that he was "missing", only to later accuse the BJP of indulging in dirty politics using the TMC leader who is unwell and not in the "right frame of mind".
"I am a BJP legislator. I want to be with the BJP. The party has made arrangements for my stay here. I want to meet Amit Shah and speak to (party president) J P Nadda," he told a Bengali news channel late on Tuesday evening.
The founding member of the TMC switched to the BJP in 2017. He won as a saffron party candidate in the 2011 West Bengal assembly election. He, however, returned to the Trinamool Congress soon after without resigning from the House.
"I was not keeping well for quite some time, so I was away from politics. But right now, I am fine and would again be active in politics," Roy said.
He said he is "100 per cent confident that he would never be associated with the TMC".
Roy also had a piece of advice for his son Subharanghsu. "He too should join the BJP as it would suit him best," he said.
The drama over Roy's whereabouts evolved since late Monday evening when the family members of the TMC leader claimed he was "untraceable".
After reaching Delhi last night, Roy told reporters that he reached the national capital but had "no specific agenda".
"I have come to Delhi. There is nothing specific agenda. I have been an MP for several years. Can I not come to Delhi? Earlier, I used to come to Delhi regularly. I am an MLA and MP of Delhi," he had said.
The former railway minister's son Subhrangshu had told PTI that his father was "untraceable" and "missing" since late Monday evening.
As there was speculation that Roy could rejoin the BJP, Subhrangshu, who too had switched over to the saffron camp, said his father is "extremely unwell" and suffers from "dementia and Parkinson's disease".
"My father is not in the right frame of mind. I would request everyone not to do politics with an unwell person. After he went missing, I had also filed a police complaint last night," he told reporters.
Roy's son also claimed that his father had undergone "brain surgery" last month and failed to recognise even family members and close associates.
Subhrangshu claimed when he came to know on Monday night that the TMC leader was travelling to Delhi by air, he had requested the authorities to de-board him, but by then, "the flight had taken off".
"The chief minister herself had called up to inquire about my father's well-being," Subhrangshu, who too had returned to the TMC in 2021 along with his father, said.
Speculations over Roy rejoining the BJP gained momentum after BJP national secretary Anupam Hazra made a cryptic single word Facebook post: "Comeback".
When contacted by a news channel, Hazra said, "It's time to wait and watch. Please wait for one or two days; everything will be clear very soon".
Reacting to Hazra's comments, Subhranghsu said it was an attempt to malign the TMC and its national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.
"This is shameful that some people have stooped so low and are doing politics over my father's visit to New Delhi. This is an attempt to malign the TMC and our party's national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee," he said.
State parliamentary affairs minister and TMC leader Sovandeb Chattopadhyay accused the BJP of indulging in dirty politics.
"I have known Mukul Roy for the last several decades. He is so ill that he doesn't recognise people and cannot complete a sentence properly. Now If the BJP wants to pursue politics by using an unwell person, we condemn such dirty politics," he said.
Senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, however, said that the saffron camp is not interested in "inducting Roy back into the party."
Meanwhile, the Airport police station under the Bidhannagar police commissionerate questioned Pijush Kanodia, a BJP leader and once a close associate of Mukul Roy, during his stint in the saffron camp.
"Following a complaint of Mukul Roy's son, we have questioned one local leader of South Dum Dum for his alleged involvement in the matter. We have also sent a couple of officers to New Delhi to find out what has happened," a senior police official said.
Roy joined the BJP in 2017 following differences with the TMC leadership. He was made BJP national vice president in 2020.
He won from the Krishnanagar North assembly seat on a BJP ticket in 2021 and returned to the TMC just a month after the results were announced, complaining of "ill-treatment" by the saffron party. He, however, didn't resign as an MLA.
Since his return to the TMC, he has remained away from the public glare.
Roy also resigned as the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee in the West Bengal assembly last year, citing ill health
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Putin meets Iran's FM Araghchi, says Russia ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia
Moscow (PTI): Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday met Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hailed the Iranian people for fighting bravely and heroically for their sovereignty and said Moscow is ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia as soon as possible.
Araghchi, who held talks with Omani and Pakistani leadership before arriving in Russia, met Putin in St. Petersburg and thanked him for supporting Iran, state-owned TASS news agency reported.
"Russia is ready to do everything in its power to ensure that peace in the Middle East is achieved as soon as possible," Putin said during his meeting with Araghchi, which was also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Revealing that he received a message from Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei last week, Putin asked Araghchi to convey his "gratitude for this message and best wishes for his health and well-being."
He praised the Iranian people for fighting "bravely and heroically" for their sovereignty, Iran's state-run PRESS TV reported.
"We really hope that, based on the courage and desire for independence, the Iranian people, under the guidance of the new leader, will weather this difficult period of trials and peace will come,” Putin said.
He also stressed that Russia “intends to maintain” its strategic relations with Iran.
Araghchi said that the world witnessed Iran’s strength in countering the US during the recent war, and that the Islamic Republic is a "stable and powerful establishment."
"With their courage, the Iranian people succeeded in resisting the US aggression and will be able to endure it,” he said.
He said that it became clear that Iran has “great friends and allies” like Russia, and conveyed “warmest greetings” from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian to the Russian leader.
Araghchi said relations between Moscow and Tehran represent a “strategic partnership at the highest level” and will continue to develop "regardless of circumstances."
"We are grateful to you for the solid and strong positions in support of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.
Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the talks between President Putin and the Iranian Foreign Minister were "useful and constructive."
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said that Russia is "ready to provide any good offices, any mediation services that are acceptable to the parties."
"We will be ready to do everything so that ultimately peace ensues, guaranteed peace, and that there is no return to hostilities," Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS.
He was asked how Moscow can assist in future negotiations on the Iranian settlement.
Araghchi arrived in Russia after his whirlwind trip to Islamabad, which, according to him, was “very productive” and involved “good consultations" with Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, amid uncertainty over the second round of peace talks to resolve the war in West Asia.
"We held good consultations with our friends in Pakistan. The trip was successful. We assessed the outcome of our recent (meetings) and discussed in what direction and under what conditions talks can move on,” Araghchi said in a video posted on his Telegram channel upon his arrival in St Petersburg.
Referring to the second round of talks between the US and Iran to resolve the conflict in West Asia, Araghchi said: "Developments have taken place in the negotiations."
"Despite some progress in earlier rounds, the talks failed to reach their objectives due to the Americans' approach, the excessive demands they made, and the wrong approaches they adopted. Therefore, it was necessary to consult with our friends in Pakistan to review the latest situation,” Iran's official news agency IRNA quoted him as saying.
He said that the trip to Pakistan was a good opportunity to review developments related to the US-Israeli war against Iran, expressing confidence that “these consultations and coordination between the two countries will be highly significant.”
Araghchi arrived at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport early Monday, where he was welcomed by Russian officials and Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, the report said.
The first round of peace talks between Iran and the US, held on April 11 and 12, failed to bring the desired result for the parties to the conflict.
The Iranian minister arrived in Islamabad for the second time on Sunday after a short visit to Oman, where he held talks with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said on security in the Strait of Hormuz and diplomatic efforts to end the Iran-US conflict.
After Araghchi left Pakistan for Oman on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would no longer be going to Islamabad for talks with Iran, contending that Washington held all the cards on the matter.
Trump on Sunday reiterated that the US and Iranian officials can talk by phone for a peace solution to the conflict.
On Tuesday, Trump extended the two-week ceasefire with Iran indefinitely to give Tehran more time to prepare a unified proposal to end the war, just hours before the truce was set to expire.
The war began when the US and Israel jointly attacked Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several top commanders. The retaliation by the Islamic Republic extended the war to the entire Gulf region.
