Assam Cabinet Halts Aadhaar Issuance for Adults Over 18 to Curb Illegal Immigration
The Assam Cabinet has decided to stop issuing Aadhaar cards to individuals above 18 years of age to ensure illegal immigrants do not acquire the document, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced on Saturday.
Key Decisions
"The Assam cabinet has decided not to provide Aadhaar cards to any person above 18 years," Sarma told reporters during a cabinet briefing in Guwahati. "ST, SC, Tea Garden people will get an Aadhaar card till March 2027."
In exceptional cases, the district commissioner will have to send a proposal to the state government seeking permission for issuing the card, Sarma said. The government will then decide whether the applicant is eligible for the card.
Rationale Behind the Move
Remarking that Aadhaar card issuance has reached a saturation point in the state, Sarma said, "In some districts, it has crossed the 100 per cent mark, and we must ascertain who these people are who are taking the additional Aadhaar cards. The step is being taken to ensure that no illegal Bangladeshis get Aadhaar cards."
Aadhaar cards will continue to be issued to those below the age of 18.
Complete Ban from April 2027
The chief minister said the ban will be complete from April 1, 2027, and people from tea garden and ST communities above the age of 18 will also stop receiving it from that date. Sarma had earlier said the state government would be "very strict" in issuing Aadhaar cards, and it would not be easy to get the document in Assam. Last year, he had said the Assam government was mulling stricter rules for the issuance of Aadhaar cards for adults as part of its efforts to curb illegal immigration from Bangladesh.
Political Context
The move aligns with Union Home Minister Amit Shah's electoral pitch in March, when he had urged Assam voters to give the BJP another five years to "pick out each and every infiltrator and throw them out of Assam." Shah had described infiltrators as a threat to jobs, foodgrains and land of indigenous Assamese people.
