Trinamool Congress MLA moves SC as private citizen over linking Aadhaar to bank accounts

After the Supreme Court (SC) on Monday pulled-up West Bengal government for challenging the Centre's move to make Aadhaar mandatory for availing the benefits of various social schemes, Trinamool Congress MLA  filed a writ petition in the SC in the capacity of a private citizen.

Mahu Moitra who is also party general secretary has challenged the directive from her bank to link her account with Aadhaar by December 31. Moitra's petition was filed on Monday after SC refused to entertain the West Bengal government's petition on the same issue. Even though the petition was filed through the Chief Secretary of West Bengal, the apex court took an exception to the case and said, "If Mamata Banerjee objects to Aadhaar, let her come to court personally. The court also observed how can a state challenge a law passed by the Centre.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee responded by saying she accepted the court's decision. “We have high respect for the court. The court has given the verdict and we will obey. I don’t think there will be any problem. We appreciate that. The court did not reject our appeal. It said to apply individually. We have accepted it. Individually, some people have already made an appeal before it.”

The Supreme Court on Monday set up a five-judge Constitution bench to continue hearing a batch of petitions challenging the government’s decision to make Aadhaar mandatory to avail welfare scheme benefits.

(With agency inputs)