JD(U) MP Sharad Yadav (Source: File) JD(U) MP Sharad Yadav (Source: File)

JD(U) MP Sharad Yadav on Wednesday said linking of Aadhaar with bank accounts and food security schemes should not be made mandatory as it caused problems to people, and claimed that even the family of former Union minister George Fernandes faced difficulty on this account.

The rebel JD(U) leader told reporters that pensioners and the poor benefiting from the National Food Security Act were hit hard when it was made compulsory. He claimed Fernandes’s wife had recently approached him, seeking help over the linking of the leader’s Aadhaar number with his bank account.

“Fernandes sahab is ill…even (big) people like Fernandes have to call up people, saying at least his bank account should not be linked to Aadhar. Because he is in such a condition that he is unable to give even his thumb impression. After a lot of struggle (we solved the issue),” Yadav claimed.

He termed Aadhaar card a “killer” and alleged that the government’s insistence that it be used under the act to get ration “has caused starvation and subsequently deaths”. “The government is fleecing people and is exploring new ways to do so…it (linking Aadhaar number with bank accounts and food security schemes) should not be mandatory and there has to be clarity on this,” Yadav said.

Replying to a question on demonetisation, he attacked the government and said opposition parties would stage protests to denounce the move and observe “black day” on November 8 when the declaration of noteban would complete a year. “There will be spontaneous protests. The country’s economy has been hit hard. We are not sure by when our economy will revive. Demonetisation will be remembered in history as a black day,” he added.

Yadav also announced that the next round of ‘Shared Composite Culture’, a campaign he launched to “save democracy” earlier this year, would be held in Mumbai on October 27.Senior Congress leader Anand Sharma, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI’s D Raja, NCP’s Tariq Anwar and other opposition leaders would participate, he added.

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