By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, April 11: Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong on Friday stated that while Aadhaar is required everywhere to avail various facilities provided by the state and the Centre, it is the sole discretion of the citizens whether to avail those facilities or not.
“A section of people are against Aadhaar registration. If they don’t want the facilities provided by the state and the Centre it is up to them. We cannot force them to register if they feel it is totally unnecessary for them,” Tynsong said.
Emphasising the importance of Aadhaar, he said, “Even for admission in different institutions you need Aadhaar. If you talk about ration card you need Aadhaar; even if you want to avail the benefits of medical reimbursement in terms of insurance you need Aadhaar.”
Anti-Aadhaar protesters held a public rally on Wednesday to oppose the government’s alleged decision to push for mandatory Aadhaar-linking to access various government benefits.
The Meghalaya unit of the Awaken India Movement (AIM) and North Shillong MLA, Adelbert Nongrum, argued that people should be free to decide whether to register for Aadhaar or not, and it would be unfair to impose it on those who are against it.