Challenging Centre’s regulation to make Aadhaar card mandatory for all financial transactions, West Bengal government on Friday moved to Supreme Court against Modi government’s move of linking welfare schemes with Unique Identification Number.

The Supreme Court will hear West Bengal government’s petition on Monday.

Advertisement

On Wednesday, Bengal Chief Minister strongly opposed the central government’s move to make linking of mobile number to Aadhaar card mandatory and said she will not provide her Aadhaar number to the telecom operator even if her connection was barred.

“This is a tactics of the Centre to interfere into people’s privacy. I think, we should not provide Aadhaar number to the mobile companies” she said during her party’s extended core committee meeting here.

“If we do not have a mobile connection for that, so be it. I challenge that I will not provide my Aadhaar number even if my connection is stopped. I don’t care.”

Terming the move a breach of people’s right to privacy, the Trinamool Congress supremo said the central government was trying to intrude into people’s personal life and curb their freedom.

“Aadhaar might be necessary in banks for security reasons. But they are asking for Aadhaar number for mobile phone connections as well,” Banerjee said.

The Department of Telecommunications in March this year directed all mobile phone service providers to re-verify existing customers, prepaid and postpaid, using their unique Aadhaar identity number and biometric details.

They have been told to complete the exercise by early next year.