‘Banana republic’: Opposition fumes over Assam govt’s decision

Guwahati: The Opposition Congress and Trinamool Congress on Thursday criticised the Assam government’s decision to make NRC application a pre-condition for obtaining an Aadhaar card, stating the state has turned into a “banana republic” under CM Himanta Biswa Sarma and BJP.

In an effort to link the Aadhaar card with the NRC, the Assam government on Wednesday decided that all applications for the unique identity card will be rejected if the applicant or their family had not applied for the NRC.

The decision was taken in view of infiltration attempts by citizens of trouble-hit Bangladesh, Sarma said at a press conference.

“The problem of fake beneficiaries is huge in Assam. Government data itself shows how crores of public funds were wasted in the implementation of PM Kisan,” deputy leader of Congress in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi said in a post on X.

Sharing a news link, he said people in the state are paying GST, cess and various other duties. “...but the entire money is being funnelled into the pockets of BJP party members,” Gogoi alleged.

TMC Rajya Sabha MP Sushmita Dev, who hails from Assam, said the NRC has not been notified by the Registrar General of India to date and questioned making it the basis for Aadhaar.

“Secondly, even non-citizens in India get AADHAR cards if they have stayed 182 days in the 12 months before applying. Lastly, unless the government declares a person an illegal migrant, how can they refuse AADHAR? Assam is a banana republic under @himantabiswa & @BJP4India,” she posted.