Respect every decision of Mayawati, says Akash Anand after removal from key BSP posts

Akash also said the decision had an emotional impact on him but asserted that he has taken it as a challenge and has a long battle ahead of him.

Lucknow: A day after his removal from all party posts in the BSP, Akash Anand on Monday said he respects every decision of party chief Mayawati and regards them as "patthar ki lakeer" or carved in stone.

He also said the decision had an emotional impact on him but asserted that he has taken it as a challenge and has a long battle ahead of him.

Mayawati on Sunday removed Anand, who is her nephew, from all party posts and appointed his father Anand Kumar and Rajya Sabha MP Ramji Gautam as national coordinators in his place. She also said that she would not name a successor in her lifetime.

Anand, in a post on X in Hindi on Monday, said, "I am a cadre of Mayawati ji and under her leadership I have learnt unforgettable lessons of sacrifice, loyalty and dedication, all these are not just an idea for me, but the purpose of my life.

"Every decision of Behan ji (Mayawati) is like a patthar ki lakeer for me (carved in stone). I respect and stand by every decision taken by her." "The decision left me emotional, but it is a big challenge now, the test is difficult and there's a long battle ahead," he said.

Calling himself a true worker of the Bahujan Mission and the Bahujan Movement, Anand said patience and determination are the true companions of an individual in such difficult times.

"I will continue to work with full devotion for the party and the mission and fight for the rights of my society till my last breath," he said.

Hitting out at political rivals, he said, "Some people from the rival party are thinking that my political career is over... They should understand that the Bahujan Movement is not a career, but a fight for self-respect and self-esteem of crores of Dalits, exploited, deprived and poor people." "This is an idea, a movement, which cannot be suppressed. Lakhs of Akash Anands are always ready to keep this torch burning and sacrifice everything for it," he added.

While removing Anand from key posts, Mayawati on Sunday said the party is supreme and relations can come later.

The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister had sacked Anand last year but later reinstated him and appointed him her political successor.

She hit out at his father-in-law Ashok Siddharth, accusing him of trying to weaken the BSP by dividing it into two groups. Mayawati last month expelled Siddharth from the BSP on charges of factionalism and anti-party activities.

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