Condemning the insistence of officials of Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation on Aadhaar number for payment of property tax, secretary Greater Visakha unit of Communist Party of India (Marxist) B. Ganga Rao demanded that the move be withdrawn immediately.

Pointing out that Aadhaar does not have any constitutional validity, he said it was not right on part of the administration to demand Aadhaar number for all purposes, he said in a statement issued here on Sunday. The BJP and the Telugu Desam parties which opposed the Aadhaar linkage while they were in the opposition were now implementing the same with renewed vigour, he said demanding that the two parties come clear on their stand on Aadhaar card. The indiscriminate insistence on Aadhaar linkage for welfare schemes has resulted in a large number of eligible persons being denied pensions and scholarships, he said. He demanded the ministers, MLAs and MPs from the city to explain to the public the rationale of linking Aadhaar number to property tax payments.