Actor Sohail Dutta has expressed his grief following the death of veteran politician Mukul Roy, while also reflecting on the political lessons he learned from him. Dutta, who once followed Roy’s path by leaving the Trinamool Congress (TMC) to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said Roy was not mentally at peace during his time in the BJP.
Sohail Dutta has been familiar with politics since childhood. As a child artist, he attended political campaigns of various leaders, and later formally entered politics himself. He was initially with the Trinamool Congress, then briefly joined the BJP for a few months, and has since returned to the ruling party.
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Speaking after Mukul Roy’s passing, Dutta told News Ei Samay, “Losing a political personality as significant as Mukul Roy is undoubtedly a big loss. Shuvrangshu Roy (Mukul’s son) tried till the very end. But no one is above God. He suffered a lot in his final years. At one point, it was hard to recognise him. Was this really the same Mukul Roy? I often wondered whether going to the BJP was the right decision. He was not mentally well in the BJP, and that is why he returned to the Trinamool."
As the Assembly elections are approaching, Dutta said the biggest lesson he learned from Mukul Roy was the importance of listening to people before trying to achieve anything big in politics. According to Sohail Dutta, “Mukul da had no greed for position or ministerial posts. He only wanted to strengthen the organisation.”
