Meghalaya in a fix over Aadhaar enrollment

Raju Das



A senior Government official spoke to The Assam Tribune, but didn�t want to be quoted for obvious reasons. He said, the enrollment process in Aadhar is on in �full swing� and so far five lakh people have enrolled. �This is the second phase of the enrollment process that is on. The first phase was stopped after some NGOs objected urging for more awareness programme be held on Aadhaar. We held massive awareness programmes and so the second phase has started,� the official said. In the first phase, he said, 2.33 lakh people were enrolled before it was stopped. In the current phase over two lakh people have enrolled and the process is on. In this situation Sangma�s and the Government machinery�s position seems to be diametrically opposite. Sangma said that he has not enrolled so far as there is a lot of confusion in his mind at the moment. �The enrollment process is not mandatory. Anyone can enroll or stay away from it, but if anyone obstructs other persons from enrolment the law would take its own course,� the official said adding, �there is lot of politics going into the matter.� There has been a quiet campaign against the Aadhaar card in Meghalaya for awhile now. The campaign began a long time back before the issue of privacy was raised and the matter moved to the Supreme Court. In the beginning and even now, the card has been associated with the �devil by terming it 666.� The official said that in a democracy the people have the right to make their own decisions and reiterated that in the end the people have to take a rational decision whether they would like to enroll or stay away. �I can say that the enrollment has been going on thick and fast. Nobody has been forced to enroll or stay out. We will only go faster from here,� he said. On the other hand there have been pockets in the State where people have refused to enroll. Aadhaar is a 12 digit unique identification number issued to Indian residents, however, it is a proof of residence and not citizenship. But there are concerns raised about the card�s safeguards and some feel it violates the right to privacy, which the Supreme Court recently declared as a fundamental right. The mandatory linking of Aadhaar card with bank accounts and phone has been challenged and several PILs have been filed against the Government�s move. The matter would come up for hearing before a Constitution bench of the Supreme Court this month.