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<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Indian politician}}<br />
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'''Santosh Kumar Roy''' (1926–2012) was an Indian politician from [[Cooch Behar]], northern [[West Bengal]], belonging to the [[Indian National Congress]]. He represented the [[Cooch Behar Dakshin Assembly constituency|Cooch Behar South constituency]] in the [[West Bengal Legislative Assembly]] 1967 to 1975. Roy was the West Bengal state government Public Works and Housing minister for a short stint in 1971 and then the Minister for Refugee Rehabilitation, Relief and Social Welfare from 1972 until his resignation in early 1975 following an investigation by the Wanchoo Commission. He was the chairman of the [[Jute Corporation of India]] for less than a year in 1976-1977, before returning to electoral politics and unsuccessfully contesting the 1977, 1982 and 1987 West Bengal elections. He was one of the secretaries of the Congress Party in West Bengal in the early 1980s.<br />
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==Biography==<br />
Roy was born in 1926 in Cooch Behar.<ref name=who>''[https://books.google.at/books?id=VFm4AAAAIAAJ Who's who in 1982 Assembly Election, West Bengal: Personalities and Party Manifesto]''. Merchants' Club, 1982. p. xvii</ref> As a student he became involved in political activities.<ref name=who/> As of 1965 he became the president of the East India Plywood Sramik Sangha Congress, a [[trade union]] based in Cooch Behar.<ref>''[https://books.google.at/books?newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&id=7P4sAQAAMAAJ West Bengal Labour Gazette]''. Department of Labour, Government of West Bengal., 1965. p. 330</ref><br />
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Roy was elected to the [[West Bengal Legislative Assembly]] from the [[Cooch Behar Dakshin Assembly constituency|Cooch Behar South constituency]] in the [[1967 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election|1967]], [[1969 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election|1969]], [[1971 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election|1971]] and [[1972 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election|1972]] elections.<ref name=who/><ref name=wbelec>''[https://books.google.at/books?id=CNeNAAAAMAAJ Election Results of West Bengal: Statistics & Analysis, Vol. 1]''. p. 448</ref><ref>Election Commission of India. ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20140404195120/http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/StatisticalReports/SE_1972/StatReport_WB_72.pdf STATISTICAL REPORT ON GENERAL ELECTION, 1972 TO THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF WEST BENGAL]''</ref> He served as Minister for Public Works Department and Housing in the short-lived cabinet of [[Ajoy Mukherjee]] formed after the 1971 election.<ref>Antara Datta. ''[https://books.google.at/books?id=NwIrQbgWigwC&pg=PA139 Refugees and Borders in South Asia: The Great Exodus of 1971]''. Routledge, 2012. p. 139</ref><ref>Anjali Ghosh. ''[https://books.google.at/books?newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&id=s3EeAAAAMAAJ Peaceful Transition to Power: A Study of Marxist Political Strategies in West Bengal, 1967-1977]''. Firma KLM, 1981. p. 125</ref> In September 1971 the [[All India Congress Committee]] president [[Damodaram Sanjivayya|D. Sanjivayya]] formed a 30-member ad hoc committee to lead the Congress Party in West Bengal, with Roy as one of its members.<ref>''[https://books.google.at/books?id=wt4YMjckQv0C Socialist India, Vol. 3]''. Indian National Congress. All India Congress Committee., 1971. p. 10</ref><br />
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He was named Minister-in-Charge for Refugee Rehabilitation, Relief and Social Welfare, including Tribal and Scheduled Castes Welfare, in the [[Siddhartha Shankar Ray]] cabinet formed after the 1972 election.<ref>''[https://books.google.at/books?id=KfQKAQAAIAAJ Annual Administration Report]''. West Bengal (India). Scheduled Castes and Tribes Welfare Dept, 1975. p. 1</ref><ref name=iwi>''[https://books.google.at/books?id=Slb-OhhGNLUC The Illustrated Weekly of India, Vol. 103, Issues 25-46]''. Published for the proprietors, Bennett, Coleman & Company, Limited, at the Times of India Press, 1982. p. 44</ref><ref>''[https://books.google.at/books?id=yX5KAAAAMAAJ Manorama Year Book, Vol. 8]''. Manorama Publishing House., 1973. p. 676</ref> As the state Relief Minister, Roy went on record denying the prevalence of famine in West Bengal.<ref name=ara>Amrita Rangaswami. ''[http://www.jstor.org/stable/4364192 A Generation Being Wiped Out]''. ''Economic and Political Weekly'', vol. 9, no. 48, 1974, pp. 1973–76.</ref><br />
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Roy was one of five West Bengal state government ministers investigated by the Wanchoo Commission, a one-man commission led by Justice [[Kailas Nath Wanchoo|K.N. Wanchoo]] to investigate accusations on corruption and nepotism.<ref name=are>''[https://books.google.at/books?id=jwUuAQAAIAAJ Asian Recorder, Vol. 21]''. 1975. p. 12514</ref><ref name=sind>''[https://books.google.at/books?id=nlOP5tT2CPMC&pg=RA13-PA33 WEST BENGAL MINISTERS RESIGN]'', in ''Socialist India'', 8 February 1975. p. 33</ref> The Wanchoo Commission found Roy guilty of having used his political influence to secure employment for his sister under the Social Welfare Board.<ref name=are/><ref name=din>''[https://books.google.at/books?id=unpDAAAAYAAJ Data India, Issue 3; Issue 16]''. Press Institute of India, 1975. pp. 80, 144</ref> And apart from the issues investigated by the Wanchoo Commission, Roy faced other cases and inquiries in the local press relating to his roles in the Cooch Behar District Central Co-operative Bank (for which he had served as president and secretary, which had now gone into moratorium) and the now closed Co-operative Rice Mill (he had at one point served as the chairman of its Board of Directors).<ref name=ara/> Roy resigned from his ministerial post on 29 January 1975, following a special cabinet meeting reviewing the Wanchoo Commission report.<ref name=sind/><ref name=are/><ref name=rch>Rakhahari Chatterji. ''[https://books.google.at/books?newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&id=53weAAAAMAAJ Politics in West Bengal: Institutions, Processes, and Problems]''. World Press, 1985. pp. 51, 58</ref><ref>''[https://books.google.at/books?id=dbF64AKqLjsC Keesing's Contemporary Archives, Vol. 21]''. Keesing's Limited., 1975. p. 26979</ref> Roy resigned from his seat in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly on 21 February 1975, vowing to prove his innocence regarding the accusations against him.<ref name=din/><br />
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Roy served as the chairman of the [[Jute Corporation of India]] from 31 July 1976 and 20 April 1977.<ref>''[https://books.google.at/books?newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&id=mhN3IQTO_iQC Report, Issue 14]'' India. Parliament. Committee on Public Undertakings, 1978. p. 1</ref><ref>''[https://books.google.at/books?id=SXtDAAAAYAAJ Data India]''. Press Institute of India, 1977. p. 210</ref><ref>''[https://books.google.at/books?id=Y9gnAAAAMAAJ Eastern Economist, Vol. 67]''. R.P. Agarwala, 1976. p. 302</ref> He contested the [[1977 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election]] as the Congress(I) candidate in [[Natabari Assembly constituency|Natabari seat]] - finishing in second place with 12,486 votes (24.53%).<ref>Election Commission of India. ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20140404203744/http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/StatisticalReports/SE_1977/StatisticalReportWestBengal77.pdf STATISTICAL REPORT ON GENERAL ELECTION, 1977 TO THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF WEST BENGAL]''</ref> As of the early 1980s he served as one of the secretaries of the [[West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee|West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee(I)]].<ref name=iwi/><ref name=rch/><ref>''[https://books.google.at/books?id=m3JDAAAAYAAJ Cong-I: Factional Struggle Continues]'', in ''Link'', Vol.25, Issue 4. United India Periodicals, 1983. p. 13</ref><ref>''[https://books.google.at/books?newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&id=X6psKBWbRRUC Asian Bulletin, Vol. 10, Issues 1-6]''. APACL Publications, 1985. p. 9</ref><ref name=who/> He again contested the Natabari seat in the [[1982 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election]], finishing in second place with 35,034 voters (43.57%).<ref name=who/><ref>Election Commission of India. ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20140404201749/http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/StatisticalReports/SE_1982/StatisticalReportWestBengal82.pdf STATISTICAL REPORT ON GENERAL ELECTION, 1982 TO THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF WEST BENGAL]''</ref> In the [[1987 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election]] he again finished in second place in Natabari, with 41,487 votes (44.54%).<ref>Election Commission of India. ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20140404202041/http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/StatisticalReports/SE_1987/StatisticalReportWestBengal87.pdf STATISTICAL REPORT ON GENERAL ELECTION, 1987 TO THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF WEST BENGAL]''</ref><br />
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His hobbies included collecting rare books and manuscripts and reading.<ref name=who/> Roy died in 2012.<ref>''[https://books.google.at/books?newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&id=a5KURxM81CYC The Journal of Parliamentary Information, Vol. 58]''. Lok Sabha Secretariat, 2012. p. 358</ref><br />
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==References==<br />
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Roy, Santosh}}<br />
[[Category:1926 births]]<br />
[[Category:2012 deaths]]<br />
[[Category:State cabinet ministers of West Bengal]]<br />
[[Category:West Bengal MLAs 1967–1969]]<br />
[[Category:West Bengal MLAs 1969–1971]]<br />
[[Category:West Bengal MLAs 1971–1972]]<br />
[[Category:West Bengal MLAs 1972–1977]]<br />
[[Category:Indian National Congress politicians from West Bengal]]<br />
[[Category:People from Cooch Behar district]]</div>WernerStoate3