Calcutta, June 29: Trinamul today suspended two MLAs perceived to be close to Mukul Roy for anti-party activities, a day after they attended an iftar at Nizam Palace where the party's former all-India general secretary was present.
"The party leadership has suspended Shilbhadra Dutta and Sheuli Saha pending inquiry against them for anti-party activities. The decision was taken following a recommendation by the party's disciplinary committee," Trinamul secretary-general Partha Chatterjee said.
"We are sending the suspension letters to the MLAs and at the same time informing the Speaker (Biman Banerjee) to arrange separate seats for them, away from our legislators," he added.
Roy, already sidelined in the party, said: "I have just heard about the suspension of two of our MLAs. But there was neither a news conference nor any official statement regarding this. It would be unfair to comment at this juncture."
While Dutta is the Trinamul MLA from Barrackpore, Saha represents Haldia. Both are first-timers in the Assembly and were said to have got nomination at Roy's behest.
Chatterjee, who heads the three-member Trinamul disciplinary committee, said the party had gone through "specific complaints" against Dutta and Saha before taking the decision. He did not elaborate on what the "complaints" were.
Although both MLAs were accused of anti-party activities today, Trinamul insiders said they paid the price for being Roy loyalists.
Dutta's wings were clipped in the party earlier when he was removed as parliamentary secretary about three months ago. Saha, too, was removed from the post of the party's general secretary in October last year.
"The immediate trigger behind the suspensions was their participation at the iftar at Nizam Palace. Everyone knows they went there because Mukulda wanted them to be there. Their suspension is another message to Mukulda," a Trinamul leader said.
Trinamul has gradually sidelined Roy over the past few months, replacing him with Subrata Bakshi as the party all-India general secretary and removing him as leader in the Rajya Sabha.
Although Roy has not spoken out against the party in public, his movements in Delhi and his meetings with BJP and Congress leaders have been tracked closely from Calcutta.
"Reservations about Mukulda have been such that he was not asked to campaign in the recent civic polls, not even for his son Subhranshu in Kanchrapara," the Trinamul source said.
The fact that Roy's activities were under Trinamul's scanner was indicated by Chatterjee today.
Without naming the Trinamul MP, Chatterjee said: "Nobody is above the organisation. We are keeping a watch on others and action against them would follow soon."
Sources said both Dutta and Saha had been receiving guests alongside Roy at yesterday's iftar. The guests included BJP leader Pradip Ghosh and new inductee Anjana Basu, who is an actress.
The suspended legislators denied having received any communication from the party leadership.
"I was surprised to see in television channels that Sheuli and I have been suspended. At least we should have been heard out before initiating the order," the Barrackpore MLA said.
Saha, too, said she was clueless about the order.
"I had attended the iftar at Nizam Palace yesterday responding to an invitation by the two organisations that hosted it. Several intellectuals and other leaders were present along with Mukul Roy," she said. "If I am suspended merely for attending a programme, I will participate in such events at least a thousand times."
The Haldia MLA said she would wait for a formal letter to reach her before deciding on her course of action.
"It can't be that I was suspended because I attended the iftar with Mukul Roy. He is not a suspended member of the party. He is still a Trinamul MP," Saha said. "I am yet to receive any formal intimation from the party," she added.
