Kolkata, February 23 – Prime Minister Narendra Modi issued a statement on Monday mourning the death of Mukul Roy, a senior politician from West Bengal, who had served with both the Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
In a message shared this morning on his official X handle, the Prime Minister also shared an old picture of himself with Roy, during Roy's time with the BJP from 2017 to 2021.
"I am deeply saddened by the passing of former Union Minister Shri Mukul Roy. He will be remembered for his political experience and his efforts to serve society. My condolences to his family and supporters. Om Shanti," the Prime Minister said in his social media message.
Abhishek Banerjee, general secretary of the Trinamool Congress and a Member of Parliament, also issued a condolence message acknowledging Roy's contribution as a founding pillar of the Trinamool Congress.
"The death of Mukul Roy marks the end of an era in West Bengal's political history. He was a veteran leader with vast experience. His contributions helped shape a crucial phase of the state's public and political journey. As a founding pillar of the All India Trinamool Congress, he was instrumental in expanding and consolidating the organization during its formative years. His dedication to public life will be remembered with admiration. I extend my sincere sympathies to his family, friends, and admirers. May his soul find eternal peace," Abhishek Banerjee said.
Similarly, Suvendu Adhikari, the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, who was also, like Roy, once a prominent leader in the Trinamool Congress, first as a Member of Parliament and then as a party legislator and a key member of the West Bengal cabinet, also issued a statement mourning Roy's death.
"I am deeply saddened to learn about the sad demise of Senior Politician, Shri Mukul Roy. My sincere condolences to his family. I pray that his soul finds eternal peace. Om Shanti," Adhikari said in his social media message.
Satarup Ghosh, a youth leader of CPI(M) and a member of the party's state committee in West Bengal, has also issued a condolence message, reminding that Roy had once acknowledged that in West Bengal, the Trinamool Congress and the BJP were two sides of the same coin.
Senior politician Mukul Roy, a former Union Railway Minister, died early Monday morning at a private hospital in Kolkata. He was 73.
Roy passed away shortly after 1:30 a.m. on Monday, confirmed his son, Subhranshu Roy. He had been undergoing treatment for several medical complications and was not responding to treatment, according to his close associates.
Roy was once the second-in-command in the Trinamool Congress as the party's general secretary and the closest confidant of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. He was among the first nine leaders who approached the Election Commission of India (ECI) to form a new political party – the Trinamool Congress – in the late nineties, which Mamata Banerjee founded after she parted ways with the Congress.
