Mayawati Sacks Nephew Akash Anand from BSP Over Father-in-Law’s Retirement Demand

3:12 AM ETDeveloping

Health Desk

In Short: BSP chief Mayawati announced the sacking of her nephew Akash Anand, following his father-in-law's demand to retire from politics.

Mayawati announced the sacking of her nephew Akash Anand from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) on Thursday, hours after his father-in-law and former Rajya Sabha member Ashok Siddharth announced his retirement from politics. In a social media post, Mayawati criticized Anand for prioritizing personal and family interests over the party's and its movement's interests.

Mayawati's statement on X highlighted Anand's failure to repost her earlier post on Siddharth's retirement, suggesting a stronger attachment to family ties than to the BSP. She emphasized that Siddharth's decision to retire was correct but came too late, and that Anand should now be considered independent within the party.

Mayawati further stated that the BSP's Ambedkarite political tradition was built on sacrifice, struggle, and staying above personal and family interests. She alleged that had Siddharth taken the decision earlier, the BSP, its Bahujan movement, and Anand would not have faced adverse circumstances, forcing her to take tough decisions.

An emotional post from Siddharth announced his retirement, expressing pride in his potential to give his life for Mayawati if required. Mayawati ended her statement by calling on BSP workers to remain committed to rebuilding the party in Uttar Pradesh and securing a full-majority government under the slogan 'Sarvajan Hitay, Sarvajan Sukhay.

The move to sack Anand, former national convenor of BSP, comes after a political drama over the former CM's demand that Ashok Siddharth quit politics. Mayawati alleged that had Siddharth taken the decision earlier, the BSP and Anand would not have faced adverse circumstances, and she would not have been forced to take several tough decisions concerning them.

What's still developing

She said this was in contrast to Anand’s earlier reposting her posts to show his loyalty to the party.
“He used to try to prove his loyalty by reposting posts from the BSP chief’s ‘X.’ This too suggests that both Shri Ashok Siddharth and Shri Akash Anand have less attachment to the success of the party and the movement and more to their personal and familial interests. Yet, it is the B.S.P. that has elevated both of them, along with many others, from the floor (ground) to the heights of the sky (heavens),” She wrote.
“Therefore, if Shri Akash Anand wants to remain independent in the party now, he is independent,” Mayawati said, effectively ending his formal association with the BSP.
The remarks came a week after Mayawati removed Anand from all organisational responsibilities, including the post of BSP national coordinator, on September 3.

Sources

The Indian Expresslink