The Bahujan Samaj Party is distancing itself from exposes targeting the business dealings of Anand Kumar, party chief Mayawati’s brother. Speaking to The Sunday Guardian, a senior BSP leader said, “That (allegations against Kumar) is not related to the party. The party is not required to defend him. He can take recourse to litigation if he wishes.”
Earlier this week, two national newspapers carried detailed reports about the business and financial dealings of Kumar. This was not the first time that such questions were raised about his activities. BJP leader Kirit Somaiya had previously brought in the public domain details about companies in which Kumar was a director, acquiring substantial cash and other reserves. The latest exposes have pointed out that Kumar floated most of his companies after Mayawati became UP Chief Minister in 2007.
The BSP leader sought to defuse the allegations by maintaining that the issue was related to “an individual”. “She has a number of brothers and sisters. This is a personal matter.”
Mayawati had held a press conference on 24 January to pre-empt the report that later appeared in the Indian Express. She defended her brother and her close associate Satish Chandra Mishra’s son, who has also been implicated by the reports. She urged the media to probe into the business dealings of leaders and their relatives belonging to other parties.
The BSP source claimed that the Central government was behind the latest expose: “The government wants us to disturb us and damage our credibility.”