New Delhi: In yet another scathing attack on the BJP-led Centre, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee claimed the government has been “deactivating” the Aadhaar cards of people in the state so that they cannot avail the benefits of the state government schemes through bank accounts ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, news agency PTI reported.
Speaking at a public event in Birbhum on Sunday, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo said the Centre’s tactics will not deter her government’s normal operations and that the people would continue to reap the benefits of the various state welfare schemes, even if they do not have a functional Aadhaar card.
“Be aware, they (BJP-led Centre) are deactivating Aadhaar cards. Several Aadhar cards have been deactivated in many districts of Bengal. They (BJP-led Centre) are delinking Aadhaar cards so that before polls people do not get benefits of Lakshmi Bhandar through banks, free ration. But we will continue paying the beneficiaries of the schemes even if they have no Aadhaar card. Not a single beneficiary will be affected,” PTI quoted CM Banerjee as saying.
It is to be noted that the TMC government in West Bengal runs several schemes, including the Lakshmi Bhandar, under which women are provided a monthly dole of Rs 500, Sabuj Sathi and Shasthya Sathi, among others.
CM Banerjee further said that she has received numerous complaints where residents residing in the Jamalpur block of East Burdwan district have reported receiving letters stating the deactivation of their Aadhaar cards. These letters, dispatched from the Ranchi office of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), were delivered via post, she claimed.
The TMC supremo also condemned the alleged attacks on the farmers who have been staging a protest in Punjab and Haryana in a bid to press the Centre for their demand, including a guarantee on the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for their produce.