Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi drawing his attention to alleged reports that the Aadhaar cards of a number of people in Bengal had been deactivated.
Referring to how the people were getting letters from the Centre that their Adhaar cards were being deactivated, Banerjee wanted to know as to why such incidents were taking place.
Saying that she had received a number of representations from the citizens about their Adhaar cards being cancelled causing "chaos and hue and cry among the residents," Banerjee said, "I would like to know from you the causes for such a move. Is it just for the sake of depriving the eligible beneficiaries or to create a panic situation among the people at large just before the Lok Sabha elections."
The Chief Minister had earlier claimed that the BJP-led Centre was 'deactivating' Aadhaar cards of people of Bengal to deprive them from getting the benefits of various State Government schemes like Laxmir Bhandar, Swathya Saathi etc.
She earlier said that though the Adhaar cards were being deactivated her Government would create new cards for the victims so that they were not deprived of the government schemes.
The BJP however hit back saying such allegations were wild and no such initiative had been taken from the Centre. "Everyone's Adhaar is safe and if there is some glitches then that will be taken care of by tonight … I am speaking to the right authorities," Bengal BJP president Sukanto Majumdar said. The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) too clarified that no Adhaar card was being deactivated. "In the course of activities undertaken to keep the Aadhaar database updated, intimations are issued from time to time to Aadhaar number holders. In this connection, it is clarified that no Aadhaar number has been cancelled," it said.
Earlier people from Burdwan and Nadia districts complained that they were receiving letters that their Adhaar cards were being deactivated.