NEW DELHI: Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati on Monday sacked her nephew Akash Anand from the party, accusing him of being “under the continued influence of his father-in-law, which was deemed to be more important than the party’s interest.” Anand was widely seen as being Mayawati’s successor.
Revealing the reason behind her decision, Mayawati said that Anand was expected to show repentance and maturity, but his response reflects his political immaturity.
“In the BSP’s All-India meeting, yesterday, Shri Akash Anand was relieved of all responsibilities, including that of National Coordinator, due to his continued influence by his father-in-law, Shri Ashok Siddharth, which was deemed to be more important than the party’s interest. He was expected to show repentance and maturity. However, contrary to this, the lengthy and elaborate response given by Shri Akash reflects not his repentance and political maturity, but rather the selfish, arrogant, and non-missionary influence of his father-in-law, which I have continuously advised party members to avoid and have also penalized,” Mayawati said in a social media post on X.
“Therefore, in the interest of the self-respect and self-esteem movement of the revered Baba Saheb Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar, and to uphold the tradition of discipline established by Shri Kanshi Ram Ji, Shri Akash Anand is, like his father-in-law, expelled from the party in the interest of the party and the movement,” she added.
This comes a day after the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister removed her nephew and appointed his father, Anand Kumar, and Rajya Sabha MP Ramji Gautam as national coordinators in his place, and said she would not name a successor in her lifetime.
In an All-India meeting of the party held in Lucknow on Sunday, Mayawati announced that from now on, she will not have any successor in the party while she is alive. Akash, however, was not present at the meeting on Sunday.
Earlier, on May 7 last year, Mayawati had sacked Akash for “lack of maturity.” He was later reinstated in the two roles on June 26.
Meanwhile, Akash, in his first reaction, said that he respects Mayawati’s decision and stands by it. He called the major development “personally emotional,” adding that Mayawati’s every decision is “like a line of stone.”
“I am a cadre of the most revered sister Ms. Mayawati ji, and under her leadership, I have learned unforgettable lessons of sacrifice, loyalty, and dedication. All these are not just an idea for me, but the purpose of life. Every decision of respected sister ji is like a line of stone for me. I respect her every decision and stand by that decision,” he said in a post on X.