Trinamool names Saugata Roy Lok Sabha deputy leader amid rebellion
The Trinamool Congress on Friday appointed veteran parliamentarian Saugata Roy as its deputy leader in the Lok Sabha, filling a key post that had fallen
The Trinamool Congress on Friday appointed veteran parliamentarian Saugata Roy as its deputy leader in the Lok Sabha, filling a key post that had fallen vacant after Satabdi Roy joined the rebel camp that broke away from the party. The appointment comes at a time of major organisational changes in the TMC's parliamentary ranks after 20 MPs rebelled and later aligned with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India, leading to changes in the party's leadership structure in Parliament.
Read Full Story Satabdi Roy had been serving as the TMC's deputy leader in the Lok Sabha before joining the rebel camp, making it necessary for the party to name a replacement. Saugata Roy is among the TMC's most senior and experienced parliamentarians and has been a prominent voice for the party in the Lok Sabha on a range of political and policy issues. A retired physics professor, Roy is a five-time Lok Sabha MP and currently represents West Bengal's Dum Dum constituency.
He first entered the Lok Sabha in 1977 from Barrackpore and later served as an MLA for five consecutive terms from 1987 to 2009. He returned to Parliament in 2009 from Dum Dum and has won successive terms since then. Before joining the TMC, he was associated with the Congress. Roy has also served as Union minister of state for petroleum and chemicals in the Charan Singh government and as Union minister of state for urban development in the UPA government led by Manmohan Singh.
He has also been a five-time member of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly. Ends
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