TMC MP Questions UIDAI's Sharing Of 'Deactivated' Aadhaar List With ECI In Bengal

Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Saket Gokhale on Thursday questioned the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) over how it shared a list of 'deactivated' Aadhaar numbers from West Bengal with the Election Commission of India (ECI), despite previously stating in Parliament that it does not maintain or store such data state-wise, year-wise, or by category.

The controversy erupted amid the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal, ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections. UIDAI recently informed the state's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Kumar Agarwal that approximately 32.8 lakh Aadhaar numbers had been deactivated based on death records shared by the West Bengal Health and Family Welfare Department (33.4 lakh records) and the Food and Supplies Department (15 lakh records) since January 2009. Additionally, UIDAI noted that around 13 lakh deceased individuals in the state never possessed Aadhaar cards.

Gokhale, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), highlighted the apparent contradiction: "UIDAI has now shared with the ECI a list of 'deactivated' Aadhaars from Bengal. But UIDAI told Parliament it does not store deactivation data state-wise. How is this possible?" He accused the move of being part of a larger "silent invisible rigging" plot by the ECI and BJP to suppress votes, drawing parallels to a similar fiasco in Bihar where living voters were erroneously marked as deceased.

TMC leaders, including spokesperson Arup Chakraborty, echoed the concerns, alleging the data could lead to the wrongful deletion of up to 5% of Bengal's voters—around 34 lakh people—from the rolls. The party has vowed to challenge any such deletions through protests, legal action, and courts, warning that it would not allow genuine voters to be turned into "ghost entries." Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's administration has already opposed the SIR process, viewing Aadhaar linkage as a tool for voter manipulation targeting marginalized communities.

UIDAI, in response to Gokhale's query on X, clarified that the deactivations were based solely on death records voluntarily provided by state departments, and no independent list was maintained by the authority. The ECI has included Aadhaar as an indicative proof of identity for SIR verification, aiming to clean up voter databases, but TMC claims this is a pre-planned exercise to benefit the opposition BJP.

Political observers note that the timing, just months before polls, has heightened tensions, with Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari countering by accusing TMC of adding over 13 lakh fake voters. The row underscores broader debates on data privacy, electoral integrity, and the role of Aadhaar in governance.