‘Akash Anand needs to become more mature’: Mayawati rules out major BSP role for nephew | Lucknow News
LUCKNOW: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Thursday said her nephew Akash Anand still needs to become more politically mature and decided against giving him any major responsibility in the party for now, news agency PTI reported.“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, however, said Akash Anand, the BSP’s national coordinator, would continue to work in the party.Mayawati referred to BSP founder Kanshi Ram’s principles. She said he had allowed members of his family and other relatives to assist in party work but was opposed to giving them election tickets or positions after the party came to power.\“I am also completely committed to that resolve,” she said.Mayawati said this approach was also necessary to protect the party from the tactics allegedly used by political opponents during elections.As per the PTI report, Mayawati also announced that the BSP has decided to contest all elections across the country, irrespective of their size, on its own. 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,” Mayawati said.She also cited remarks made by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat during his recent visit to the United States and criticised the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), saying there was a wide gap between its words and actions and that it therefore lacked credibility.During his recent visit to the United States, Bhagwat said that if a Hindu believes there should be no Muslims in Bharat, “he will not remain Hindu”. He also stressed that Hindu philosophy accepts that different faiths can lead to the same truth, emphasising unity in diversity.“In matters concerning the real interests and welfare of crores belonging to the ‘Bahujan samaj’, their constitutional right to reservation, and the safety, dignity and religious freedom of women, Muslims and other religious minorities, there is a huge difference between the RSS’s words and actions. This is why it lacks credibility,” Mayawati said, according to a statement issued by the party.She said that despite being around for a significant period of time, the RSS had not earned the recognition and respect it seeks.“If the RSS has complete faith and commitment to the humanitarian, welfare-oriented and egalitarian Constitution given by Babasaheb Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar, it should follow it honestly and make their people follow it,” Mayawati said.PTI reported that at the meeting, Mayawati reviewed the BSP’s work, discussed shortcomings and issued directions to office-bearers at various levels for the organisation’s annual activities. She asked them to implement the instructions with “complete honesty and dedication”.Mayawati reiterated that safeguarding the interests of the ‘Bahujan Samaj’ and bringing exploited and deprived sections to power remained the BSP’s core mission. She asserted that attaining political power was necessary to achieve that objective.
