Lucknow: Expelled Bahujan Samaj Party leader and former Rajya Sabha member Ashok Siddharth has announced his retirement from politics, a day after BSP chief Mayawati said that his retirement was necessary if her nephew and Siddharth’s son-in-law, Akash Anand, was to be given another opportunity to rise within the party.
Siddharth, who was expelled from the BSP for the second time on August 2 over alleged anti-party activities, made the announcement in a detailed post on social media, reiterating his loyalty to Mayawati and the BSP and rejecting allegations that he had worked against the interests of the party.
Taking to X, Siddharth said, “I wish to convey that your command holds more importance for me than anything else in the world. My personal relationships and family pale in comparison to your orders.”
He said that for the past 35 years, he has remained “dedicated” to the BSP. Calling Mayawati his “political mentor and elder sister”, he said, “You have bestowed so much upon a humble person like me. It is because of you that I served as a member of the Legislative Council and the Rajya Sabha. You deemed me worthy enough to make a humble worker like me a member of your family. This is a debt I can never repay in this lifetime.”
Swearing by Lord Gautam Buddha and Kanshiram, Siddharth said he had never acted against the interests of the BSP and could not even imagine doing anything that would go against Mayawati or her directions.
Siddharth had been facing allegations of attempting to ‘take control’ of the party and ‘misleading’ Akash Anand.
Rejecting these claims, he clarified, “Far from advising Akash Anand, in the last several months, I have met him on only a few occasions — specifically when his programs were organised in election-bound states, a responsibility you had entrusted to me.”
He further claimed that some party colleagues had levelled allegations against him because of jealousy over the respect he received within the organisation, asserting that there was “not an iota of truth” in such accusations.
Siddharth described the allegations as part of a conspiracy by political adversaries who, according to him, were themselves involved in activities against the party.
He also appealed that his decision to retire should not be interpreted or connected solely to any possible return of Akash Anand to the BSP.
“Before being my son-in-law, Akash Anand is your nephew and the son of Anand Bhai-sahab. He has spent two decades of his life under your guidance. How could a humble worker like me possibly mislead him?” Siddharth wrote.
In another part of his message, the former BSP Rajya Sabha member praised Mayawati for what he described as her sacrifices for the Bahujan movement and said she had always placed the society’s interests above personal ambitions.
“You are the embodiment of sacrifice and compassion; when it came to the interests of society, you readily spurned the Chief Minister’s chair and the Rajya Sabha seat. You are not merely our guide but our role model,” Siddharth wrote.
“If you feel that my continued presence in political and social life is harming the ‘Bahujan Mission’ established by our saints, gurus, and great leaders, then I am retiring from political and social life this very moment. My life is indebted to you; retirement is a small price to pay in comparison. If I ever have to lay down my life for you, that too would be a matter of pride for me,” he said.
Mayawati, in a post on X on Wednesday, had advised Siddharth to retire from politics, saying that his personal interests had prevented him from properly protecting the interests of Akash Anand as well as the BSP movement.
She alleged that instead of setting an example of sacrifice and selflessness before BSP workers and society, Siddharth had acted in the opposite manner.
Mayawati said that, keeping in view the interests of the BSP and the future of Siddharth’s family and his son-in-law Akash Anand, he still had an opportunity to give up his political ambitions, rise above personal self-interest and completely withdraw from politics.
According to Mayawati, only after Siddharth’s retirement would Akash Anand be able to work freely within the BSP, and only then could the party consider, with sympathy, restoring organisational responsibilities to him.
(IANS)
