Mamata writes to PM, questions govt's intention behind Aadhaar deactivation

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced that her government would provide alternative identification cards to people whose Aadhaar cards have been deactivated

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, questioning the central government's intention behind Aadhaar deactivation.

"I would like to know from you about the causes for such a sudden action of deactivation of Aadhaar cards without assigning reasons," she wrote in the letter.

"Is it just for the sake of depriving the eligible beneficiaries of the benefit or to create a panic situation among the people at large just before the ensuing Lok Sabha election?" she asked.

The chief minister also announced that her government would provide alternative identification cards to people whose Aadhaar cards have been "deactivated.” 

“I will ask people to inform the portal if their Aadhaar card has been deactivated. I will give them an alternative identification card, take their photos, and issue the same so that people in Bengal are not deprived of the benefits they get. Don’t worry if an Aadhaar card isn’t there. We will issue another card. We will take the necessary action. If needed, we will issue a separate card so that nobody is deprived of any of our social welfare schemes,” Banerjee said during a press conference on Monday.

Launching an attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led central government, Banerjee said, “This is a fascist conspiracy. What does the BJP do other than instigate violence? Why would people not inform the state government and visit the BJP offices? Everybody knows that the BJP is the ‘Bharatiya Janjal Party’."

She added that the state government would send a team to the Election Commission of India (ECI) over the issue.

Meanwhile, BJP leader and Union Minister Shantanu Thakur said the people whose Aadhaar cards had been “deactivated” would get them back.

“The Union home ministry has already cleared it that the deactivation process has been stopped and those whose cards have already been deactivated will get them back. I have been given the responsibility to take applications from those people. You just need to write your name, phone number, and Aadhaar number and say that it has been deactivated. I will submit it to the home ministry, and the issue will be resolved. I have already said it was due to some technical fault,” Thakur said.

“I want to ask the chief minister if it is a state issue. This department is directly under the central government. You are misguiding people by making such claims,” he added.