Mayawati says nephew Akash Anand not ready for major BSP role yet
BSP chief Mayawati on Thursday said her nephew and party national coordinator Akash Anand needs to become more politically mature and ruled out giving him any major responsibility in the organisation for now.
“I have allowed Akash Anand to work in the party, which is before all of you, but Akash Anand still needs to become more mature. Till then, it would not be appropriate to give him a major responsibility in the party,” she said while addressing a national-level meeting of BSP office-bearers here.
Mayawati said Anand would continue working in the party but would not be entrusted with any major responsibility at present.
Referring to BSP founder Kanshi Ram's principles, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said he had allowed family members and relatives to assist in party work but opposed giving them election tickets or positions after the party came to power.
“I am also completely committed to that resolve,” she said.
Mayawati also announced that the BSP would contest all elections across the country on its own, regardless of their size. She described the Congress as “strongly anti-Dalit and anti-Ambedkar”.
“Unlike other parties, the Congress is a strongly anti-Dalit and anti-Ambedkar party in every matter, whose history is known to everyone. In such a situation, the party (BSP) has now decided to contest all small and big elections across the country alone,” she said.
The BSP chief also criticised the RSS over remarks made by its chief Mohan Bhagwat during his recent visit to the United States.
Bhagwat had said that a Hindu who believes there should be no Muslims in Bharat would not remain a Hindu. He had also stressed that Hindu philosophy accepts that different faiths can lead to the same truth.
Mayawati, however, said there was a wide gap between the RSS's words and actions on issues concerning reservation, women's safety and the rights of Muslims and other minorities.
She said the RSS lacked credibility and had not earned the recognition and respect it sought despite its long existence.
“If the RSS have complete faith and commitment to the humanitarian, welfare-oriented and egalitarian Constitution given by Babasaheb Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar, they should follow it honestly and make their people follow it,” she said.
At the meeting, Mayawati reviewed the BSP's organisational work, discussed shortcomings and issued directions to office-bearers for the party's annual activities.
She reiterated that protecting the interests of the Bahujan Samaj and bringing exploited and deprived sections to power remained the BSP's core mission, saying political power was necessary to achieve that objective.
