New Delhi:
Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati's nephew Akash Anand is no longer her political heir or the party's national coordinator. The 29-year-old was sacked this evening, days after his comment comparing the BJP to the Taliban. However, there is hope for a postponement, his aunt indicated.
“In the same order, along with promoting other people in the party, I have declared Shri Akash Anand as National Coordinator and successor, but in the larger interest of the party and the movement, he is separated from both these important responsibilities until he achieves full maturity,” the BSP chief wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Mr Anand's comments about the BJP made headlines last week. A case was filed against him for violation of the Model Code.
“This government is a bulldozer government and a government of traitors,” he had said.
“The party that leaves the youth hungry and enslaves the old is a terrorist government. The Taliban is running such a government in Afghanistan,” the BSP leader had added. The BJP is a party of thieves that has looted Rs 6,000 crore through electoral bonds, he further alleged.
The district administration took note of the speech and a case of violation of the Model Code of Conduct was filed against Mr Anand and four others on Sunday. Three of the others were party candidates and the fourth was a leader who organized the meeting where Mr Anand spoke.
Ms Mayawati had appointed her cousin as her political heir in December last year.
Akash Anand had officially entered politics ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Before that, he had attended several BSP events and accompanied his aunt during the campaign for the 2017 Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh.