The long arm of the State seems to be getting even longer. Consider a recent development in Assam. The chief minister of that state, Himanta Biswa Sarma, has stated that new Aadhaar cards will not be issued to those above the age of 18 years, except for the ones with disabilities or those hailing from scheduled caste, scheduled tribe and tea garden communities. The purported reason cited by the chief minister is the electorally relevant but socially divisive issue of illegal immigration. Mr Sarma’s intervention, however, falls foul of legal, logical and judicial stipulations. Experts opine that the role of the state government is that of a ‘registrar’ in the Aadhaar scheme, with enrolment taking place via applications sent directly to the Unique Identification Authority of India. At best, a state government can request the Centre or the UIDAI to stop issuing a card. Mr Sarma’s logic is garbled too. The Aadhaar Act makes it evident that the document neither confers rights nor does it attest to proof of citizenship or domicile. Then on what basis can the disbursal of Aadhaar be stopped since the document cannot be used to claim citizenship and related rights by illegal migrants? The judicial position on the matter is also illustrative. Only last month, a bench of the Supreme Court — it featured the chief justice of India — binned a petition that had sought to restrict fresh Aadhaar enrolment of children below six — illegal infiltration was cited as the rationale in that instance too.
The seeming encroachment of the State on India’s welfare module is not limited to Assam. Reports from Bengal and Bihar — the Bharatiya Janata Party is in power in these two states as well — are rife with murmurs of the welfare rights of those excluded in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls or placed in the under-adjudication category coming under a shadow. Such a problematic stance by the State can have chilling repercussions for countless citizens on the margins. The irony cannot be starker, or crueller. Public welfare is a potent electoral tool. All political parties promise the moon irrespective of the burden of such populism on the exchequer. But the tables are turned when some of these parties get elected to power, with steps being taken to narrow the scope of and access to welfare. This reckless disregard for ethical and constitutional imperatives is shocking and must be reined in.