He said that his government will send a team to the Election Commission on this issue.
Kolkata:
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the “sudden deactivation” of Aadhaar cards of people in her state, especially those from SC, ST and OBC communities.
He also said that such a “deactivation” exercise is against the rules and a gross violation of natural justice.
“I wish to bring to your kind attention a sudden incident of serious nature of indiscriminate deactivation of Aadhaar cards of people, especially those belonging to the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and OBC communities in West Bengal,” Ms Banerjee said in a letter. Letter to Prime Minister Modi.
“I want to know the reason for sudden deactivation of Aadhaar card without giving any reason. Is it to deprive the beneficiaries of benefits or to create a situation of panic among the people before the Lok Sabha elections?” He said.
The Chief Minister claimed that the Unique Identification Authority of India head office in New Delhi was issuing deactivation letters directly to individuals and family members without any field investigation or taking the state into confidence.
“The current developments have created chaos and uproar among the residents of the state, as a large number of people are approaching the district administration for redressal of their grievances,” he said in the letter.
Earlier in the day, Ms Banerjee attacked the BJP government at the Centre, alleging that the Aadhaar card was being “deactivated” as a eve of bringing in the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
“I hope the ‘Matua’ and SC/ST communities will understand the BJP’s game plan. I want to say clearly that I will not allow NRC and detention camps in Bengal,” the CM told reporters at the state secretariat.
He said that his government will send a team to the Election Commission on this issue.
Ms Banerjee also talked about “separate identity cards” to ensure that people can avail the benefits of social welfare schemes in the state.
“Don’t worry if you don’t have an Aadhaar card… If the need arises, we will issue a separate card so that no one is deprived of our welfare schemes,” he said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
