TMC MP questions UIDAI list of 'deactivated' Aadhaar numbers in Bengal

New Delhi, Nov 20 (PTI) Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale on Thursday questioned how the UIDAI shared a list of 'deactivated' Aadhaar numbers from West Bengal with the Election Commission of India, and said they had previously claimed that such lists are not maintained.

In a post on X, Gokhale, a Rajya Sabha MP from Trinamool Congress, alleged that the ECI is "collaborating with Modi government's UIDAI for vote chori".

"A few days ago, it was reported that UIDAI (which issues Aadhaar) has shared 30-32 lakh deactivated Aadhaar numbers with ECI. UIDAI claims these Aadhaar numbers belong to dead people," Gokhale said.

"Now, here's the scam... Last year, UIDAI sent me a letter regarding deactivated Aadhaar. In that letter, it said: 'UIDAI does not maintain state-wise and reason-wise details for deactivated Aadhaar numbers'," Gokhale said.

He shared a response by the UIDAI dated February 26, 2024, in which they had said state wise, and reason wise data is not maintained. The reply also said till then, 103 lakh Aadhaar cards had been deactivated, including 82 lakh of those who passed away.

"In other words, UIDAI told me in writing that it only maintains a general list of deactivated Aadhaars. It does not know which states these Aadhaars were issued in and what the reason for deactivation was," he said.

He added that UIDAI had also said the same thing on the floor of Parliament.

"In that case, how is the UIDAI claiming that there are 30-32 lakh deactivated Aadhaars specifically in West Bengal when it does not maintain state-wise data?" he said.

"How does the UIDAI know that 30-32 lakh Aadhaars in Bengal have been deactivated owing to deaths of the Aadhaar holder when it does not also maintain reason-wise data? This is yet another brazen example of ECI collaborating with the BJP to carry out large-scale deletion of voters," he said.

"The Modi government's UIDAI must clarify... Did they lie in Parliament or are they lying now just to help ECI and BJP with vote chori under the guise of SIR?" he said.

About 34 lakh Aadhaar card holders in West Bengal have been found to be 'deceased' since the identity card was introduced in January 2009, UIDAI authorities informed the Election Commission earlier this week.

The UIDAI authorities also communicated to the EC that about 13 lakh people in the state never possessed Aadhaar cards, but have since died.

The information was shared during a meeting between officials of UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India) and the state's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Kumar Agarwal, amid the ongoing enumeration exercise of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Kolkata.

The meeting followed an EC directive asking all state CEOs to coordinate with Aadhaar authorities to verify voter data and identify discrepancies. PTI AO NB