The Congress on Wednesday accused the government of "weaponising" Aadhaar and technology to deny the most vulnerable citizens their social welfare benefits and demanded release of payments due to MGNREGA workers.
The opposition party's attack came after the rural development ministry said the progress of Aadhaar-based payment system has been reviewed and the mixed route of wage payment has been extended till December 31 or till further order.
In a statement, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the extension has been given for the fifth time. This has become inevitable because despite four extensions, 41.1% of the total 26 crore job card holders still remain ineligible for this mode of payment, he said. The government had initially ruled out any more extensions as the fourth extension ends on August 31, saying that only 18.3% active workers will become ineligible, he said. Mr. Ramesh alleged that with five state polls around the corner and the widespread outrage, the government is trying to delay the inevitable with its continued "experiments with technology".
