<b>Letters:</b> Voluntary or necessary?

Apropos Shreya Jai’s report, “Plans to link power bills to Aadhaar” (May 4), here comes another suggestion from the central government for boosting a digital wave. 

Although the Supreme Court is at present hearing a petition that has been filed against the prior decision of the government to link Aadhaar card with Permanent Account Number (PAN), no judgment has been delivered on this matter, rather a new “linking” suggestion has come from the Centre. The recent suggestion aims at moving towards transparency, easier collection of bills, eliminating bribery and, of course, promoting digitisation. 

But what must not be ignored here is that in April, a fake Aadhaar card racket was busted in Ahmedabad, which had links with states such as Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh. It indicates that even Aadhaar is not foolproof.  

These fake Aadhaar cards were used by the accused to open bank accounts, especially after demonetisation. Hence, what was initially introduced as a mechanism for transferring subsidies to beneficiaries is now being linked with everything. 

Is Aadhaar mandatory or voluntary? That electricity, which is a necessity, is being linked to Aadhaar answers the question well.

Ankita Kalia Chandigarh

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