Mamata trains gun on Centre over Aadhaar linking

Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee once again attacked the Centre for making linking of Aadhaar compulsory without guaranteeing that the fundamental rights of a person will not get infringed.

Banerjee raised the issue while addressing the inaugural programme of the 69th anniversary of Universal Declaration of Human Rights on Friday.

Raising the question on why a newborn baby, whose retina hasn't developed properly, needs to get Aadhaar card, Banerjee said: "Is it not injustice to a baby?"

She further said: "One can link his or her Aadhaar card with their bank accounts, provided it is assured that money will not get automatically deducted from the account."

She raised a question mark on the credential of Aadhaar cards, stating "thousands of Aadhaar cards are being found under one name so where is its credential? It will badly affect the pensioners as well."

"I was astonished to find that a letter has been sent to the state Labour department stating that certain grants will be stopped if one doesn't possess Aadhaar card," she said, adding that "this is nothing but muscle-flexing." She also urged the judiciary to give justice to common people in this connection.

Banerjee said: "Many cannot speak up as they are fearful of the present situation."

She further said that the state government gives utmost importance to human rights and has set up 19 human rights courts in the state after coming to power. She further said that as per the proposals, the matter of introducing a new rule related to human rights will be looked into by the law department.

She said: "An incident had taken place at Garden Reach in which a youth, Sk Azad had died in police lock-up. I had received a call from his wife, who was pregnant. So I went to her house and fought for her rights. I held a dharna for 21 days and the then Prime Minister had assured me that the Human Rights Commission will be set up here."