First meeting of newly formed PAC held, Mukul Roy away in Delhi : TMC MLA Tapas Roy presides over session

Mukul Roy.: File picture

TT Bureau, PTI   |   Calcutta   |   30.07.21: Newly appointed Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman Mukul Roy, who recently switched over to the TMC after winning the state elections on a BJP ticket, on Friday gave the panel's first meeting a miss as he was away in Delhi, accompanying Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Roy was recently made the chairperson of the PAC of Bengal Assembly by Speaker Biman Banerjee.

In a letter to the speaker, Roy said that he wouldn't be able to attend the PAC meeting, which was, during the day, presided over TMC MLA Tapas Roy.

BJP MLAs, who had quit as chairpersons of eight other assembly committees in protest against Roy's appointment to PAC, boycotted the meeting.

"This person (Roy) was made PAC chairman violating all rules and see how serious he is about the post. The chairman himself was absent from the first PAC meeting. This only shows the true colour of Mukul Roy and the ruling party," Leader of the opposition Suvendu Adhikari told reporters.

Defending Roy, the TMC leadership said there is no rule that mandates the presence of chairman during the PAC meeting, if he is away attending to other emergencies.

"He is occupied with some other engagements, and Roy had informed the speaker in advance. We don't need a lecture from Suvendu and his party on parliamentary regulations," Tapas Roy said.

Mukul Roy, officially a BJP MLA from Krishnanagar Uttar, joined the TMC last month. He, however, did not resign as a legislator, despite being asked to do so by the saffron party.

The TMC leader was elected from among twenty members of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

Asserting that an opposition MLA is always appointed as the committee's chairman, in accordance with the norm, Adhikari said the TMC misused that rule to place Roy at the helm.

"We had proposed names of six MLAs. The BJP never recommended Mukul Roy. He publicly joined the TMC recently, but that clearly wasn't taken into account," the saffron camp MLA from Nandigram stated.

Adhikari further said that his party wanted eminent economist and MLA Ashok Lahiri to head the committee.

"This corrupt TMC government finds ways to get their stooges elected to the top post," he added.