Trinamool Congress MP Sougata Roy quits as Mamata Banerjee adviser

KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress MP Sougata Roy has resigned as adviser to the West Bengal government’s industry, commerce and IT department. A senior Trinamool Congress leader told ET, “Mr Roy has sent his resignation letter to the chief minister. But the chief minister has not yet accepted it.”

When ET contacted Roy over phone, the Trinamool Congress MP said, “I have nothing to say on the issue.” Roy was appointed adviser to the commerce and industry department, after all six Trinamool Congress MPs who were Union ministers, resigned from the Union government following instruction from Mamata Banerjee. He was asked by the chief minister to draft the new industry policy.

It is learnt that Roy had recommended incentives to industry to woo investment, which Banerjee was not in favour of. Roy seems to also have differences of opinion with industry minister Partha Chatterjee over drafting of the new industry policy. But Chatterjee denied having any differences with Roy: “I am in very good terms with Roy. We had discussed many issues before Roy finalised the new industrial policy,” Chatterjee said.

Roy had said last week that the possibility of setting up large industries in the state was bleak which was interpreted in political circles as criticism of Mamata Banerjee’s land policy, which advocated that the state government would have no role to play in land acquisition for industry.