A combination of photos shows Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Akash Anand, the nephew of BSP president Mayawati.
Asked at a press conference whether he would induct Anand into the SP if the young BSP leader wanted to join, Yadav said in jest, “If you bring him, we will take him (Agar aap le aayenge, hum le lenge). Yadav, however, maintained that Anand’s removal from the BSP was an internal matter and said leaders of other parties should not comment on it. Mayawati on Thursday announced that Anand had been “completely freed” from the BSP, shortly after his father-in-law and former Rajya Sabha member Ashok Siddharth announced his retirement from politics.
People from other parties cannot say anything about it,” he said when asked about Mayawati’s decision, according to PTI. The BSP chief said Anand appeared to be “double-minded” and questioned whether he could effectively work for the party when his personal and family interests seemed to “take precedence” over his political career and the Bahujan movement. “Or I was expecting questions on ‘phooka’,” Yadav said, in a veiled jibe at Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath.
“It is a decision of their party. Addressing a BSP public meeting in Hathras last month, Anand had taken a sharp dig at Yadav and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, referring to their age and political standing.