Mamata Banerjee opposes Centre's move to make Aadhaar mandatory

The move to make Aadhaar compulsory to open and keep bank accounts valid comes less than a week after the government insisted that Aadhaar-PAN linking.

Kolkata, June 16: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday said the poor will be affected by the decision on Aadhaar while strongly opposing the Centre's move to make it mandatory for opening bank accounts and financial transactions of Rs 50,000 and above.

Banerjee tweeted, "The poorest of the poor and the marginalised people will be the worst sufferers if Aadhaar is made mandatory unilaterally." She added that Aadhar has privacy issues and that the government should not make it compulsory.

According to the new mandate, all existing bank account holders will have to submit Aadhaar card numbers to banks by December 31 this year, failing which the accounts will become invalid.

The move to make Aadhaar compulsory to open and keep bank accounts valid comes less than a week after the government insisted that Aadhaar-PAN linking.

IANS