July 28, 2016
Trinamool slams Centre for making Aadhaar mandatory for receiving govt benefits
Trinamool Congress, along with the Samajwadi Party, Biju Janata Dal and the Janata Dal (United), today gave a Notice of Suspension of business in the Rajya Sabha to take up a discussion on the issue of stoppage of services to people who do not have Aadhaar cards.
In Lok Sabha, the Chief Whip of the party, Kalyan Banerjee raised the issue during Zero Hour.
Speaking on the issue, the leader of the party in Rajya Sabha, Derek O’Brien said, “This Govt talks of cooperative federalism but in action it bypasses the opinion of States. Across the country, people are suffering. They cannot get various services and facilities like pension, LPG and kerosene.”
Kalyan Banerjee demanded in Lok Sabha that the mandatory provision for Aadhaar card should be waived until there is 100 per cent coverage of Aadhaar in the country. He said in West Bengal over one crore people were yet to receive Aadhaar cards and were thus being denied benefits of various schemes.
Chief Whip of the party in Rajya Sabha, Sukhendu Sekhar Roy reminded the government that the apex court of the country, in a judgment in October, 2015, had said Aadhar should be voluntary and not compulsory.
West Bengal Chief Minister has been vocal on the issue of Aadhaar. In West Bengal, 40 per cent people are yet to receive Aadhaar cards and the Chief Minister has written several times to the Centre not to make Aadhaar mandatory unless 100 per cent coverage is achieved.
Continued protests by Trinamool and other parties led to the adjournment of the Rajya Sabha more than once.
