New Delhi, Sep 8 (IANS) Former Congress Rajya Sabha MP Rajmani Patel on Sunday criticised Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s decision to issue Aadhaar cards to women and warned that such a move could lead to animosity within the community.
The Assam Chief Minister’s announcement of the state government’s move to tackle the issue of illegal immigration has sparked a political debate. Opposition leaders have accused the government of implementing divisive policies.
Expressing concern, Rajmani Patel said, “The Chief Minister’s decision appears to be taken with bad intentions. We have a Constitution, which governs the functioning of our democracy. Citizenship laws are clearly stated in the Constitution.”
He said, “If after that a situation arises that an amendment is needed in the law, then the Parliament takes it into consideration. Attempts to amend laws outside the jurisdiction of the government can lead to social unrest. Such sensitive matters should be resolved through proper deliberations by both the Centre and the Parliament.”
Assam Chief Minister on Saturday announced that the government will not issue Aadhaar cards to those who did not apply for inclusion in the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in 2014.
CM Sarma gave the example of districts like Dhubri, Barpeta and Morigaon, where the number of Aadhar cards issued is more than the estimated population figures.
He said due to this, the Assam government decided to implement a standard operating protocol under which the NRC application number would be required for issuing Aadhaar cards.
The Assam Chief Minister said that the Central Government has given the power to the state governments to decide whether a person should get Aadhar card or not.
–IANS
FZ/CBT
