OUR CORRESPONDENT | |
 Mukul Sangma Shillong: Citizens, NGOs and Church organisations from Meghalaya's Garo hills on Monday appealed to chief minister Mukul Sangma to scrap the applicability of Aadhaar Act, 2016, in the state. In a petition sent to Sangma, the groups appealed for scrapping of the act in Meghalaya by resorting to the exemption clause under the Sixth Schedule. The groups, including the Garo Students' Union , Association for Democracy and Empowerment, Federation of Khasi-Jaintia & Garo People, A'chik Rights Forum, Senior Citizens (Tura), A'chik Baptist Dalgipa Krima (head of the Baptist Church in Garo hills) and Kingdom Gospel Ministries, met the chief minister. They said scrapping of the act was necessary "so that our inborn freedom and liberty in this tribal state are intact, secured and preserved". They said as bonafide citizens of Meghalaya, they could not permit such "human tagging, identifying humans as non-living commercial products with number". "If Aadhaar identification is neither a proof of citizenship nor proof of domicile, why is the Centre pushing it hurriedly and illegally as if it is a valid document?" one of the group members asked. The groups urged the chief minister to stop the implementation of Aadhaar and exempt ethnic customs, traditions, religion and practices of the Garos, Khasis and Jaintias from it. The petition came close on the heels of the campaign to opt out of Aadhaar where people who have enrolled under the biometric scheme have signed letters expressing their desire to withdraw from the 12-digit number. Facilitated by the Meghalaya Peoples' Committee on Aadhaar, until this afternoon, 1,566 people from Khasi-Jaintia Hills of the state have chosen to opt out of Aadhaar. Letters signed by 1,358 out of 1,566 individuals have already been dispatched to the Unique Identification Authority of India while letters from the rest would be sent on Wednesday, committee leader Rev. P.B.M. Basaiawmoit said. Rev. Basaiawmoit urged all the administration not to push for Aadhaar enrolment and instead wait for the final hearing and ruling of the Supreme Court. He appealed to the people not to exploit the situation through misinformation and disinformation. |
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12382 - Say no to Aadhaar, citizens tell Mukul - Telegraph India
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