Assam is considering a policy that would give District Commissioners the power to approve or reject Aadhaar applications from individuals over 18, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said following a state Cabinet meeting on Friday.
“We are pushing 15, 20, 30 people back from Assam every day. But it is not like the police are able to catch all of them (alleged illegal immigrants). Today, we had a discussion in the Cabinet that Aadhaar has been in Assam for many years. There is hardly any need for adults to apply for Aadhaar cards now because most of them have already been issued. Now, only children and newborns have to be given Aadhaar cards. We will discuss further and come up with a law for Assam that if adults seek Aadhaar, only District Commissioners will be able to give it to them; no one else will be able to give. As a result, fresh people coming from Bangladesh will not be able to take them,” he said.
The development comes against the backdrop of a renewed push against alleged illegal immigration from Bangladesh. This has included the detention and “pushbacks” into Bangladesh of hundreds of people declared to be foreigners by the state’s Foreigners’ Tribunals.
In a special session of the Assam Legislative Assembly earlier this month, Sarma stated that over 300 people had been “pushed back” in this manner. On Friday, he confirmed that this process remains underway, noting that another 20 people were “pushed back” on Thursday night.
“Earlier, Aadhaar was given in Aadhaar centres or SDC offices. Now, till the DC himself does not look, the path to getting Aadhaar will be closed,” he said.
Sarma said this issue is still under discussion and that a formal decision will be taken at a future cabinet meeting. He said that the state government is also looking to “tighten” the process of obtaining delayed birth registration.
In a reference to the directions for the revision of electoral rolls in Bihar, he said, “Even to be included in voter lists this time, gradually, birth certificates will be required. That’s why we want to make the issuing of birth certificates also tighter… Even cases of availing backdated birth certificates will also go to DCs.”
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Sarma has frequently expressed concerns over “suspected foreigners” availing Aadhaar cards in the state. Last year, the Assam cabinet issued a standard operating procedure to link Aadhaar cards to the National Register of Citizens, making it mandatory for one to furnish their NRC application number, which had been provided to them while applying in 2015.
