Mayawati sacks nephew, rules out naming successor in her lifetime

Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Sunday removed her nephew Akash Anand from all party posts, appointing 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.

The party is supreme and relations can come later, said the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister, who had sacked Akash Anand last year only to later reinstate him and appoint him her political successor.

Removing Akash Anand from all party posts, Mayawati hit out at his father-in-law Ashok Siddharth and said he had divided the BSP into two groups and tried to weaken it, according to a party statement.

He also ruined the political career of Akash Anand, she said.

Mayawati last month expelled Siddharth from the BSP on charges of factionalism and anti-party activities.

She said she would not name a successor in her lifetime.

The party and the movement are supreme and relations like brother, sister and their children come later, she added.

Mayawati appointed her brother Anand Kumar and Ramji Gautam as national coordinators to oversee party affairs across India.

Appreciating Anand Kumar, who is also the BSP's national vice-president, she said he always worked with devotion for the party.

"Be it paperwork, Income Tax, court issues, all are handled by Anand Kumar, who quit his government job. He also looked after (BSP founder) Kanshi Ram when he was ill," she said.

Anand Kumar decided to marry his children into non-political families so that no one tries to damage the party like Siddharth did, she said.

The meeting was held to strengthen the BSP at all levels, expand its base with all sections of society and address organisational shortcomings, the BSP said in a statement.

During the meeting, Mayawati underlined the need to counter rising inflation, poverty, unemployment and backwardness, and alleged that these were being ignored by the government.

She also criticised the budgets of both the central and the Uttar Pradesh governments, saying they were 'unrealistic' and detached from ground realities.

Government policies have failed to improve the lives of millions of poor, labourers, Dalits and backward communities, she said.

"India continues to be a country of the poor despite being called a rich nation," she said.

Reiterating the BSP's commitment to upholding the ideals of BR Ambedkar, Mayawati said her party would continue to work for the uplift of marginalised communities, according to the statement.

The meeting also outlined preparations for the birth anniversary celebrations of Kanshi Ram on March 15.

Party workers from various regions will pay tributes at designated memorial sites, including the Kanshi Ram Memorial in Lucknow and the Dalit Prerna Sthal in Noida.

Targeting the Samajwadi Party (SP), Mayawati said the party faced a humiliating defeat in the Milkipur assembly bypoll even when the BSP did not contest the election and asked whom the SP would blame for its loss.

"The SP and the BJP are two sides of the same coin. Only the BSP can defeat the BJP and other casteist parties with its Ambedkarwadi policy," she said.