Former All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) Rajya Sabha member Sukhendu Sekhar Roy on 9 June said the RG Kar Medical College rape and murder case was the decisive 'cracking point' that pushed him to resign from both the party and the Upper House of Parliament. Speaking to reporters in New Delhi a day after submitting his dual resignation, Roy said the mass public fury that erupted after the incident convinced him that the Trinamool Congress was heading toward electoral defeat.

Roy's Resignation: What He Said

'I thought enough is enough. I was thinking of leaving the party for a long time now,' Roy told reporters. He was emphatic that no external pressure influenced his decision. 'As the son of a freedom fighter, I acted according to my own conscience. I was neither coerced nor manipulated. It was my personal decision,' he said.

Roy also expressed gratitude to the Trinamool leadership for the opportunity to serve as a Rajya Sabha member, even as he announced his break with the party.

A Pattern of Sexual Harassment Cases

Roy alleged that a series of high-profile sexual violence cases — including the Park Street rape case, the Kamduni gang rape and murder, and ultimately the RG Kar rape and murder — had eroded his faith in the party. He claimed that in several of these incidents, those implicated were 'sheltered by the Trinamool Congress and some were even party workers or associated with the party's activities.'

'When such things happened, my friends and family started questioning why I was still a part of this party. Moreover, why should I be a part of their misdeeds?' he said. He added that the RG Kar incident was the moment he finally acted on a long-held intention to quit.

Reading the Public Mood

Roy drew a pointed historical parallel, noting that the same voters who had backed the Trinamool Congress in the Lok Sabha elections just five months before the RG Kar protests had taken to the streets in outrage. 'We should have thought that if the public could overthrow 34 years of the CPI-M-led Left regime and bring the Trinamool to power, then they can also remove us if we did not walk on the right path,' he said.

He went further, predicting that the Trinamool Congress would not 'survive in its present form' and would become 'a part of history' within a few months or years. He noted that several marginalised voices within the party had already privately expressed a desire to leave.

West Bengal's Governance Record Under Fire

Roy painted a bleak picture of West Bengal's development trajectory, arguing that nearly five decades of uninterrupted Left and Trinamool rule had left the state economically hollowed out. 'In the 34 years of the Left regime, followed by 15 years of the Trinamool's rule, West Bengal has been turned into a desert. There is no investment, no measures to reduce unemployment, and education has been totally destroyed,' he alleged.

He also raised concerns about the health sector, alleging that 'a majority of fake medicines, saline and injections are being bought,' and demanded a forensic audit. Roy acknowledged that he remained uncertain about his own political future, though he praised the new Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, saying it had 'already begun work on the promises made in the manifesto.'

Roy's exit adds to a growing list of senior Trinamool figures who have publicly distanced themselves from the party, and is likely to intensify scrutiny of the TMC's internal cohesion ahead of the next West Bengal Assembly elections.