On Mukul Roy's Return, A Heavy Hint From Trinamool MP

Both BJP and the Trinamool Congress have largely maintained silence on the issue and Mr Roy has maintained the suspense.

Whether the BJP's Mukul Roy will return to the Trinamool Congress has become the biggest question in Bengal politics after a series of indicative events that included his absence from a BJP meeting in Kolkata. Both BJP and the Trinamool Congress have largely maintained silence on the issue and Mr Roy has maintained the suspense. But on Wednesday evening, Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy dropped a very clear hint. "There are many people who are in touch with Abhishek Banerjee and they want to come back. I feel they betrayed the party in a time of need," Saugata Roy told NDTV. "The final decision will be taken by Mamata-di. But I feel the turncoats have to be divided in two parts -- the softliners and hardliners". The soft liners, he went on to explain, are those who left the party but never insulted Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The hardliners insulted her publicly. "While Suvendu Adhikari badmouthed Mamata Banerjee after shifting, Mukul Roy never openly abused the chief Minister," Mr Roy told NDTV.