After South Bengal districts, North Bengal is now a witness to Aadhaar card deactivations. Cases have been reported from Cooch Behar and Malda.
According to administrative sources, letters notifying the deactivation were received by three individuals in Dinhata Block I and two individuals in Dinhata Block II of Cooch Behar district on Tuesday. This incident has caused panic in the area, prompting the affected families to report the matter to the administration.
Ramal Singh Bridhhi, the Acting Sub-Divisional Officer of Dinhata, stated: “So far, letters for the deactivation of Aadhaar cards for five individuals in Dinhata have been received. The district administration has been informed of the situation.”
As per administrative sources, Dhruba Raj Barman of North Singimari village in Dinhata Block-I, Mithun Barman of Bara Natabari village and Dudhu Barman of East Binanoi village, along with Premananda Barman and Aarti Barman of Natkobari in Dinhata Block-II, have received the deactivation letters. These families promptly contacted the local Gram Panchayat, which, in turn, informed the block administration. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has sent a letter to these affected residents expressing her support.
Dhruba Raj Barman of Singimari village and Mithun Barman of Bara Natabari village, who received the deactivation letters, shared: “I was scared when I first received the letter. I contacted the Gram Panchayat and they made all the necessary arrangements. I have received the letter sent by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and am very confident.”
Partha Pratim Roy, TMC spokesperson, stated: “Just as we have seen in Assam, where many Rajbanshi people were excluded from citizenship in the NRC, the Central government is now conspiring against the backward castes in Bengal by cancelling their Aadhaar cards. All five individuals whose Aadhaar cards have been cancelled in Cooch Behar belong to the Rajbanshi community. We strongly protest this and the state government supports these people.”
Cooch Behar district BJP president Sukumar Roy countered, saying: “Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has stated that there is no issue of cancelling Aadhaar. Those who received the letter have
nothing to fear.”
Three of a family of Bakshinagar Khottapara in Aiho Gram Panchayat near the India-Bangladesh border in Malda, received the letters of deactivation on Wednesday. The family is now worried and do not know how to react to this situation.
Krishna Paul said: “The letter states that the Aadhaar card has been ‘deactivated’ due to lack of proper documents but we have ration card, pan card, bank account. I have also linked my PAN card with Aadhaar. Our family is worried about why this letter came suddenly.” Abdur Rahim Boxi, district president of TMC, said: “The BJP government at the Center is constantly trying to mislead the people of Bengal. As a result, panic is being created among people today so that people become scared and terrified.The Chief Minister announced that if the card is cancelled, the state government will stand by these people.”