PM Modi calls Mukul Roy, enquires about his wife's health

The PM's call comes a day after TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee visited Roy's wife at the hospital

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday called BJP national vice-president Mukul Roy to enquire about his wife’s health, who is currently hospitalized with post-Covid complications.

Confirming the development, Roy’s son Subhangshu said, "The Prime Minister called my father and spoke to him regarding my mother’s health condition around 10.30 am.”

The fact that the Prime Minister’s call to Roy comes a day after Trinamool Congress MP and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee visited his wife at the hospital, has sparked speculations about the political future of Roy.

Subhrangshu heaped praises on Abhishek for his cordial behavior. "Abhishek’s visit to my mother was not just a courtesy call, but an outcome of his genuine concern. He always considered my mother as his aunt.”

Speaking to reporters earlier in the day, Abhishek said he knew Roy’s wife since childhood and she is “like a mother” to him.

Subhrangshu said Mamata Banerjee had also enquired about his mother’s health. His comments assume significance as, recently in an apparent dig at the state BJP leadership, he stated that “before criticising a government elected with people’s support, introspection is the need of the hour”.

Roy, who was de-facto number two in the TMC, before joining the BJP in November 2017, is considered to be the ‘Chanakya’ of Bengal politics, did not seem to be much involved in BJP’s strategising for the Assembly elections, and was mainly confined to the Krishnanagar North constituency where he was fielded by the BJP.

Although Roy emerged victorious, Subhrangshu failed to win from Bijpur constituency. He represented the constituency as a TMC MLA, before following in his father’s footsteps and joining the BJP in 2019.

State BJP president Dilip Ghosh, however, refused to attribute much importance to Abhishek’s visit to Roy’s wife. "They (Abhishek and Roy’s wife) are old acquaintances. They can meet each other anytime,” he said.